Multi-stop manual window shade

ABSTRACT

The system includes information and data from analysis systems about optimal window covering positions that is communicated to building occupants. The analysis system communicates information to the occupant via the occupant&#39;s client computer to allow the occupant to fully or partially adjust the position of a manual shade or motorized shade, without the need for the analysis system to fully or partially electronically control the shades. The system may also adjust window covering systems and other systems to ensure desired or optimal daylight exposure in order promote optimal circadian functionality in the occupants.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, claims priority to and thebenefit of, U.S. Ser. No. 16/205,598 filed on Nov. 30, 2018 and entitled“Adjustment Notification Method.” The '598 application is a continuationof U.S. Ser. No. 15/057,354 filed Mar. 1, 2016, entitled “ShadeAdjustment Notification System and Method” (nka U.S. Pat. No. 10,174,546issued on Jan. 8, 2019). The '354 application claims priority to, andthe benefits of, U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 62/127,414 filed on Mar. 3,2015, entitled “Shade Adjustment Notification System and Method” andU.S. Provisional Ser. No. 62/239,431 filed on Oct. 9, 2015, entitled“Shade Adjustment Notification System and Method.” All of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to window covering systems, and moreparticularly, to a system and method for sending notifications aboutsuggested window covering adjustments.

BACKGROUND

The mentality of how a building should feel is changing. The systematicapproach of over-cooling the entire office at one temperature in thesummer and over-heating the entire office in the winter is notacceptable, not energy-efficient and not cost-efficient.

In a more progressive workplace, occupants prefer to maintainenvironmental control over their workspace, and such control has provento increase worker productivity. Companies and individuals often want toachieve the most energy-efficient work and living space possible, butthey often have a limited budget. While many automation systems exist,such systems are typically more expensive and outside of a limitedbudget. Budget is almost always the inhibiting factor when consideringthe purchase of building/home automated control systems for shades,lights, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) and/or A/V.Automation often has a poor return on investment due to expensive wiringcosts, especially for retrofit projects. As such, when a company cannotafford automation, the company is usually only able to install manualshades.

However, a need exists to adjust (e.g., raise and lower) the windowcoverings at specific times in order to optimize the dimmable lightingand HVAC systems. For example, by raising the window coverings everymorning, the dimmable lighting system and the HVAC would adjust tohaving natural light and heat entering the space. Essentially, raisingand lowering the shades may be one key to jump starting all of thebuilding's systems. For additional ways to improve workplaceperformance, see “Workplace Strategies that Enhance Performance, Healthand Wellness” by Gordon Wright, Director of Consulting, at HOK(http://www.hok.com/thought-leadership/workplace-strategies-that-enhance-human-performance-health-and-wellness/),which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Therefore, a need exists for notifying individuals of the preferred,optimal and/or desired times to adjust window coverings and/or othersystems.

SUMMARY

In various embodiments, the system may be configured to model at least aportion of a building and at least a portion of the surroundings of abuilding to create a shadow model, use the shadow model to calculate thepresence of calculated shadow at a location of interest and communicateto a client computer information regarding the presence of calculatedshadow at the location of interest. The system may also be configured tocommunicate to a client computer a suggested adjustment to an artificiallighting control system. The system may also be configured tocommunicate the information to at least one of an automated shadingsystem, a building management system, an artificial lighting controlsystem, a glass controller or an HVAC system. The information regardingthe presence of calculated shadow at the location of interest may becommunicated to the client computer in advance of when the calculatedshadow is calculated to be present at the location of interest. Theinformation regarding the presence of calculated shadow at the locationof interest may be configured to instruct a building management systemto adjust a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning setting associatedwith the location of interest.

In various embodiments, the system may also be configured to includemodeling, by an automated control system, at least a portion of abuilding and at least a portion of the surroundings of a building tocreate a reflectance model; using, by the automated control system, thereflectance model to calculate the presence of calculated reflectedlight at a location of interest; and communicating, to a clientcomputer, information regarding the presence of calculated reflectedlight at the location of interest. The information regarding thepresence of calculated reflected light at the location of interest maybe used by the client computer to instruct the artificial lightingcontrol system to modify an artificial lighting setting associated withthe location of interest. The information regarding the presence ofcalculated reflected light at the location of interest may further becommunicated by the client computer to the building management system inadvance of when the calculated reflected light is calculated to bepresent at the location of interest.

In various embodiments, the system may also be configured to includecomparing, by an automated control system, a measured radiation valueobtained from a radiometer to a predicted radiation value generated by aclear sky algorithm to obtain a comparison value; and communicating, bythe automated control system and to a client computer, the comparisonvalue. The information associated with the comparison value may be usedto instruct the artificial lighting control system to modify anartificial lighting setting associated with the location of interest.The clear sky algorithm may be an ASHRAE clear sky algorithm. The systemmay also include communicating, responsive to the comparison value andto a client computer, information for adjusting a glass controller,wherein the glass controller is configured to adjust a variablecharacteristic of a glass.

In various embodiments, the system may also be configured to includecomparing, by an automated control system, a measured radiation valueobtained from a radiometer to a predicted radiation value generated by aclear sky algorithm to obtain a comparison value; and communicating, bythe automated control system and to a client computer, an instructionassociated with the comparison value. The instruction may include thecomparison value. The information associated with the comparison valuemay be used to instruct the artificial lighting control system to modifyan artificial lighting setting associated with the location of interest.The system may further be configured for communicating, responsive tothe comparison value and to a client computer, information for adjustinga glass controller, wherein the glass controller is configured to adjusta variable characteristic of a glass.

In various embodiments, the system may also be configured to includecontrolling a glass having a variable characteristic. The controllingmay include using, by an automated control system, information relatedto at least one of solar penetration through the glass or solar load onthe glass to establish a standard management routine for the glass; andcommunicating, by the automated control system and to a client computer,information regarding a deviation from the standard management routinearising from an override condition. The system may include communicatingthe information regarding the deviation to at least one of an automatedshading system, a building management system, an artificial lightingcontrol system, a glass controller or an HVAC system. The overridecondition is at least one of: determining, by the automated controlsystem, the presence of calculated reflected light on the glass;determining, by the automated control system, the presence of calculatedshadow on the glass; determining, by the automated control system, amodelled brightness value indicating the presence of excessivebrightness at the glass; or determining, by the automated controlsystem, that at least one of an actual British thermal unit (BTU) loadon the glass or a calculated BTU load on the glass exceeds apredetermined value. The communicating to the client computer may beperformed in advance of a change in the environment of the glass. Thecommunicating to the client computer results in an instruction to abuilding management system to adjust a heating, ventilation, or airconditioning setting associated with the location of interest. Thesystem may be further configured for communicating, from a clientcomputer and to a first glass controller, a first instruction configuredto adjust a variable characteristic of a first glass in a first band;and communicating, from the client computer and to the first glasscontroller, a second instruction configured to adjust the variablecharacteristic of the first glass in a second band.

In various embodiments, the system may also be configured to analyze, bya control computer, circadian rhythms to determine an adjustment tooptimize the circadian rhythms; and provide, by the control computer, anotification to a user to make the adjustment based on the analysis,wherein, to optimize the circadian rhythms, the user adjusts at leastone of: a window, window properties, window covering, lighting system,air conditioning, or building management system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

The features and advantages of the present disclosure will become moreapparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken inconjunction with the drawings. The left-most digit of a reference numberidentifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary automated shadecontrol and notification system in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2A shows a schematic illustration of an exemplary window systemwith a window covering retracted in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2B shows a schematic illustration of an exemplary window systemwith a window covering extended in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary method fornotification of shade adjustment in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary ASHRAE model in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 5 shows a screen shot of an exemplary user interface (e.g. view ofSolarTrac software) in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of exemplary solar heat gain and solarpenetration sensing and notification in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 7A illustrates a flowchart of exemplary brightness sensing andnotification in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 7B illustrates a flowchart of exemplary brightness modeling andnotification in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of exemplary shadow modeling andnotification in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of exemplary reflectance modeling andnotification in accordance with various embodiments; and

FIGS. 10A-10E illustrate reflectance modeling in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary diagram of a window shade system having aspring assembly and brake device in accordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description discusses various embodiments by way ofillustration. While these various embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice thedisclosure, it should be understood that other embodiments may berealized and that logical and mechanical changes may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Thus, thedetailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustrationonly and not of limitation. For example, the steps recited in any of themethod or process descriptions may be executed in any order and are notlimited to the order presented. Moreover, any of the functions or stepsmay be outsourced to or performed by one or more third parties.Furthermore, any reference to singular includes plural embodiments, andany reference to more than one component may include a singularembodiment. For example, any reference to a singular window coveringincludes one or more window coverings, and any reference to more thanone window covering may include a singular window covering.

Moreover, the disclosure may include the phrases window covering, windowshade, shade and/or the like, and such phrases may have similar meaningto include any type of window covering (textile, roller shade, louver,awnings, blinds, etc.) or other coverings for any wall or opening(skylights, access areas, stages, displays, etc.). While the disclosuremay discuss a motor moving the shades, the disclosure contemplates anyof such movements being completed partially or fully manually (e.g.after receiving notifications with information about suggestedmovements), the movements may be automated followed by manual movements,manual movements followed by automated movements, manual overrides,automated overrides and/or any other combinations. Additionally, thesystem may provide notifications before, during and/or after any of thecalculations/analyses discussed herein. The notifications may includesuggested movements. The notifications may also include informationabout automated movements, if manual movements are or are notimplemented. The notifications may also include a time period for theuser to implement the manual adjustments, or the system may notify otherusers, notify other systems and/or implement automated movements.

The system utilizes analysis systems to communicate optimal shadepositions to building occupants. The buildings may include residential,industrial or commercial buildings. The analysis system may include, forexample, the SolarTrac system offered by MechoShade Systems, Inc. ofLong Island City, New York. An analysis system may include threeroof-mounted radiometers that monitor sky conditions in real time. Thesystem may provide solar evaluation and utilize algorithms which analyzeraw solar-sensor data to determine the sky condition, including clear orcloudy conditions. The automation and analysis algorithms can involve avariety of sources in order to optimize the settings for these buildingsystems. For further details about the automation algorithms andsystems, see the subject matter in U.S. Pat. No. 8,890,456 issued onNov. 18, 2014 entitled “BRIGHTNESS MODEL” (aka U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/671,018 filed on Nov. 7, 2012) and PCT Application No.PCT/US13/66316 filed on Oct. 23, 2013 entitled “AUTOMATED SHADE CONTROLSYSTEM UTILIZING BRIGHTNESS MODELING,” both of these applications areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties for all purposes.

The analysis system communicates information to the occupant via theoccupant's client computer (e.g., desktop computer, personal digitalassistant, cell phones, pager, graphic display, or any othercommunication system or method) to allow the occupant to fully orpartially adjust the position of a manual shade or motorized shade,without the need for the analysis system to fully or partiallyelectronically control the shades. The communication may be implementedin any channel (as set forth in more detail below) such as the Internet,intranet, the cloud, email, text, radio broadcast, cellularcommunication, instant messaging, social network website and/or thelike.

The system may communicate the same information to all or a subset ofoccupants. In various embodiments, the system may obtain and/or receiveinformation from the occupant (or the occupant's surroundings), whereinthe occupant information may change or impact the information the systemprovides to the occupant. The system may obtain information by acquiringGPS coordinates of the occupant, the occupant's surroundings (e.g.,windows that impact the occupant workspace) or the occupant's clientcomputer (e.g., smart phone). The system may obtain information aboutthe occupant, the occupant's surroundings or the client computer fromlocator systems or apps (e.g., Foursquare, Life 360, etc.) or fromsocial media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc.). The system may providedifferent shade adjustment options to the occupant, based on theinformation obtained about and/or received from the occupant. Forexample, an occupant may input the building, the building components,the window and/or the occupant geographic or environmental information(e.g., latitude and solar orientation of the window(s) underconsideration). If two or more different orientations exist, the systemmay provide a unique sound and/or icon that appears on a user device foreach window or portion of a window (e.g., glazed element).

One skilled in the art will appreciate that the use of phrases similarto “adjustments” in the present notification and manual adjustmentsystem may include full manual adjustments by an occupant or otherperson, further notification to maintenance people to provide the manualadjustments, partial manual adjustments, overrides of automatedadjustments, manual adjustments along with automated adjustments,slowing down automated adjustments, increasing automated adjustments,re-programming automated adjustments, altering automated adjustments,manually activating an automated adjustment and/or the like.

While the disclosure may be described with respect to window shadingsystems, the system can also provide information for adjusting lightingcontrol, HVAC control, glass control and a/v control. The system cancommunicate some or all of the analysis and/or notification data withonly the occupant, or the system can also communicate some or all of theanalysis and/or notification data with other systems. In that regard,the system can partially or fully control (or override) such systems,and/or the system can allow the occupant to partially or fully control(or override) such systems. For example, the system can provide asuggestion to an occupant's iPhone to adjust a window covering two feetdownward. The occupant can then manually adjust the shade downward,activate a switch to adjust the shade downward, activate an app on theiPhone which communicates with a separate system for adjusting the shadedownward, and/or using any other system or method for moving the shade.The user may manually adjust a window covering by pulling down orpushing up on the shade material, rotating (counterclock-wise orclockwise) a chain through a sprocket, rolling or unrolling the shaderod, pull cords, roller bars, drawstrings, ties, pulleys, levers, and/orany other type of device configured to facilitate adjusting, opening,closing, and/or varying window coverings and/or the like.

The analysis system can communicate to the client computer one or moreof: raw data, graphic data, links to other data or websites, activationbuttons, adjustment buttons/sliders, suggestions for how to adjust othersystems, suggestions for timing or time periods to adjust certainsystems, outcomes if certain systems are adjusted, suggestions for notadjusting other systems, estimated cost savings from adjusting othersystems, estimated costs from not adjusting other systems, suggestionsfor increased cost savings from adjusting other systems, comfort levelsfrom adjusting other systems, impact on other occupants from adjustingother systems, impact on other systems and/or the like. The system canincorporate additional data into its analysis such as the occupant'scalendar information (e.g., on vacation for 1 week), the company'scalendar information (e.g., company holiday party), information fromother systems (e.g., lighting control, HVAC control, glass control anda/v control), preferences, profiles, social media information (e.g.,Twitter, Facebook, etc.), regional event information (e.g. parade infront of the building).

In various embodiments, the benefits of automation (for optimizing thehome/building environment) are provided, without incurring theassociated high costs. The system prompts the occupants on what changesto implement in their environment and when. In other words, the systeminforms the occupant when to make changes to the settings for devicessuch as window coverings, lights, thermostats, etc. in order to optimizethe environment for any combination of preferences (e.g., visualcomfort, thermal comfort, energy conservation, privacy, view, codecompliance, performance, scenes, personal preference, etc.). Thenotifications and manual adjustments may be done in lieu of equippingthe system with electronic control over these devices directly. Thesystem may include a cloud-based solution or a controller-basedsolution.

The system may be considered an upgrade from manual shading. The systemmay expose clients to the benefit of an analysis system. This enablesclients to view the benefits of how an analysis system works, and mayentice clients to invest money in an automated system for futureprojects. Most clients have multiple buildings and office spaces, so byseeing how important window covering position is throughout the day inone space may help justify the expense in another project.

The system may also encourage developers and architects to make abuilding “automation ready”. In a building with multiple tenants, anowner can prepare their building to be “automation ready.” When a tenantmoves in, they can choose to either have automated window coverings orthe system disclosed herein with manual window coverings. Byimplementing technology into manual window coverings, the market mayhave a better understanding of such technological capabilities. Thesystem also entices clients to upgrade to motorized window coveringsfrom manual window coverings. Once technology and wiring costs arereduced, these clients may be the first to adopt automation and motors.

In various embodiments, the analysis systems may include outdoorenvironmental conditions such as, for example, exterior daylight sensorsor photosensors (visible light spectrum) in the form of globalhorizontal, vertical, diffuse or direct beam; radiometers (visible lightand IR spectrum) in the form of diffuse or direct beam; thermometers;solar angle tracking/calculating; building and window geometry(orientation of facades, overhangs, slope of glazing, window sill heightabove floor, window height above floor, etc.); humidity sensors; windsensors; internet-based weather sources; satellite imagery; historicaldatabases of weather, solar radiation, etc.; utility power grid commandsfor load shedding and other utility programs; and/or utility feedback ofpower usage.

In various embodiments, the analysis systems may include internalenvironmental conditions such as, for example, daylight sensorsincluding horizontal (e.g., tabletop, floor, ceiling, etc.), vertical(e.g., through window) and/or angular; illuminance sensors targetinginterior surfaces (e.g., horizontal working plane, vertical wallsurfaces, etc.); contrast ratio sensing (e.g., window/daylightcondition, interior vertical wall surfaces, interior horizontal workingsurfaces and/or floor surfaces, display luminance, all compared tomanage ratios); occupancy/vacancy sensors; temperaturesensors/thermostats/black body radiators; humidity sensors; schedulers;and/or current/power sensors for key electrical loads

In various embodiments, the analysis systems may include algorithms suchas, for example, scheduler; threshold control based on external orinternal environmental condition input; scene definition; solartracking(e.g., solar penetration, solar heat gain); shadow (e.g., 3d urbanmodeling, artificial horizon); reflection (3d urban modeling);brightness and/or virtual brightness; manual override control andtracking; logging and reporting; special modes, etc.; social GPStracking (e.g., identifying local conditions that are similar and whensomeone overrides one of those window coverings, notify others that theymay want to do the same—similar to Waze, etc.); daylight harvestingcontrol for lighting control; artificial intelligence/self-learning(e.g., User can log when they manual override the window covering.Program logs the pertinent environmental conditions at the time andperforms trending. When similar conditions come up again it recommendsthat the user may want to override the window coverings based onprevious history); utility load shedding program (e.g., overrideelectrical loads based on leveraged utility rates or demandemergencies); utility programs for leveraged rates; Energystar programs;optimized lighting control program which tunes lighting performancebased on task tuning, scheduling, occupancy, daylight harvesting,variable load shedding, personal control; personal green dashboardtracks the energy efficiency of the user and compares to others eitherin same building and/or in local vicinity (could be linked into utilityprograms for leveraged rate).

In various embodiments, the analysis systems may include manual windowcovering or window covering (e.g., shade, blind, awning, drapery, etc.);standard chain or cord operated window covering; multistop-stop manualwindow covering (e.g., employs LAM and decelerator where a bead keeperor other feature defines one or more presets the shade can be alignedwith so that a program can manage the depth of penetration on the solarray); manual shade+scheduler (similar to above except automation is notneeded and the user can preprogram set positions for the day whichfactor work schedule); manual shade+daylight sensor (similar to aboveexcept a daylight sensor is placed in the window which identifies theoptimal position for the shade based on the amount of daylight incidenton the window surface); manual shade+internet weather (similar to aboveexcept internet weather sources provide information on local weatherwhich identifies the optimal position for the shade based on localweather/sky conditions); manual shade+daylight sensor; manualshade+automation app; manual shade+any combination of automation app,internet supplied weather conditions, scheduler and/or daylight sensor;manual shade+any combination of above+social GPS tracking; manualshade+any combination of above+social GPS tracking+artificialintelligence; manual shade+any combination of above+social GPStracking+artificial intelligence+utility load shed or local rateprograms.

In various embodiments, the system may include similar options as abovebut with a Manual Shade+Electronic Brake. More particularly, withrespect to FIG. 11 , the system 1100 may include a drive bracket 1105,an idle bracket 1110, a shade tube 1115, a window shade 1120, a springassembly 1125, a brake device 1130 and a controller 1135. Such a systemincludes a multi-stop manual shade, but instead of using a traditionalmechanical means to hold the shade in a specific position, this deviceemploys a solenoid or other brake mechanism 1130 to hold the shade 1120in a specific position. The brake 1130 could act against the chain or itcould brake against an internal mechanism in the shade 1120 like therotating hub. This brake 1130 can be electronically controlled withcontroller 1135 and offer the ability to track the shade 1120 position(via time or via encoder, etc.) and stop the shade 1120 at the specificmulti-stop positions. The electronics may be coupled to a schedulerdirectly, or communicate wirelessly over Bluetooth, WIFI, etc. to aremote controller 1135. The remote controller 1135 can be a smartphoneor other user input device. The manual shade 1120 may be designed withan included spring assembly 1125 which predisposes the shade 1120 tomove either to the full up or full down position, unless the externalbrake 1130 holds the shade 1120 in a single place. An act of manualintervention may charge/load the spring by moving the shade to theopposite position which engages the automated brake 1130. The brake 1130may release the shade at times specified by a programmable schedule orthrough the automation system schedule mentioned above provided bycontroller 1135. As an example, at night, people lower the shades forprivacy. For an East facing shade in a SouthWest location, automationtechnology may release the shade to full open in steps until the sun iscompletely off the facade, at which point the shade could be fully up.If sky changes occur which result in a desire for moving the shade backdown, then occupants would be notified through the app or other means ofvisual communication to reset the shade. This represents an optimizedcost option between manual shade and motorized shade. In variousembodiments, the system may include similar options as above but with amotorized Shade instead of Manual Shade or Manual Shade+ElectronicBrake.

In various embodiments, the system may also adjust window coveringsystems and other systems to ensure desired or optimal daylight exposurein order promote optimal circadian functionality in the occupants. Thisin turn may promote health and productivity. In various embodiments, thecontrol algorithms and/or manual shade automation algorithms can includesuch features. For example, the system may analyze circadian rhythms andprovide a notification to the user to adjust the window, windowproperties, window covering, lighting system, air conditioning, and/orany other building management system to optimize the circadian rhythms.Such notifications may be in conjunction with the other notificationsand data discussed herein. The system may also automatically adjust suchsystems.

Circadian rhythms are biological rhythms that repeat approximately every24 hours. The light/dark cycle is the main synchronizer of the naturalpacemaker to the 24-hour solar day. Daylight exposure may be associatedwith, and improved by, input from circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythmsare based on certain factors such as, for example, people get more lightat work than anywhere else, people on north side and near windows getthe most light, indoor light exposure can increase the sleep efficiencyat night, computers cause us to reduce the amount of daylight in aspace, activity Index tracks the Circadian Stimulus very strongly andpeople spend about 93% of time indoors.

Five basic characteristics of light include quantity, spectrum,distribution, timing and duration. Other factors to consider includelight not just being to support vision requirements in order tofacilitate work/tasks taking place in a space. Light exposure can impactthe circadian rhythms in occupants which thereby can impact overallhealth, alertness and thereby the effectiveness of occupants in a space.Light is the main input to synchronize the biological clock to the solarday. If people are not exposed to a sufficient amount of light of theright spectrum for a sufficient amount of time our clocks becomede-synchronized which negatively impacts physiological functions,neurobehavioral performance and the sleep/wake cycle.

Unfortunately there is typically no one best schedule. Many factors mustbe considered including, for example, the census and acuity of the groupof people occupying a specific department, individual group member'spreferences, group size, age of individuals, gender, shift being worked,etc. Other issues are number of night shifts in a row and shift length.Night shift work often times applies artificial light control tooptimize the biological clocks of employees for working these hours.

In various embodiments, the system optimizes or improves exposure toproper daylight levels, for example, during day shift since shades canregulate this exposure. The system can recommend to a lighting systemcertain compensation strategies when proper amounts of daylight or otherlight are not available to meet the requirements. These strategies maychange seasonally, and can help offset depression and lost efficiencyespecially during winter conditions for people in northern-mostclimates. A general guideline for dayshift work is as follows: Exposureto 1Klux or more is required of 420-480 nm spectrum and timing is in themorning with a duration of 1-2 hours.

In various embodiments, the system can help regulate the exposurerequirements and choose times when the exposure will least detract fromthermal and visual comfort. In various embodiments, the system can planthe exposure based on the system's database of information related to azone's solar orientation and exposure relative to real time lightingconditions. In various embodiments, the system can further optimize thisbased on predictive inputs such as satellite feeds on local weather andthe use of devices that capture pictures of the sky.

In various embodiments, the system could be pre-programmed withinformation about the occupants that help personalize the thresholds forthe amount of exposure to daylight spectrum desired in order to optimizeactivity. Average requirements and/or minimum requirements could drivethe control strategy. Furthermore, information of the internal andexternal surroundings can also be used in order to help define trueexposure levels for the occupants, which in turn may affect the controltiming for daylight exposure.

Knowledge about surrounding artificial light conditions may also beprogrammed into a zone in order to help formulate alternative strategieswhen the external light conditions cannot meet the thresholds. Suchlight may include, for example, noontime daylight spectrum, CCT rangefor solid state lighting products (LED), incandescent, fluorescentand/or metal halide.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary automated shade control and/ornotification (ASCN) system 100 in accordance with various embodiments.ASCN 100 may comprise an analog and digital interface (ADI) 105configured for communicating with centralized control system (CCS) 110,motors 130, sensors 125 and notification module 135. ADI 105 maycommunicate with CCS 110, motors 130, sensors 125, notification module135 and/or any other components through communication links 120. Forexample, in one embodiment, ADI 105 and CCS 110 are configured tocommunicate directly with motors 130 and/or notification module 135 tominimize lag time between computing commands, notification and/or motormovement.

As discussed herein, in various embodiments, ASCN 100 may or may notinclude motors 130 or CCS 110. ASCN 100 may send a notification vianotification module 135 for the user to adjust certain shades manually,without sending any instructions for automated movement of the shades.In addition to the notification, ASCN 100 may also instruct the sameshades, a subset of the same shades or other shades to automaticallymove via CCS 110 and/or motors 130.

ADI 105 may be configured to facilitate transmitting notifications,shade position commands and/or other commands. ADI 105 may also beconfigured to interface between notification module 135, CCS 110 andmotors 130. ADI 105 may be configured to facilitate user access tonotification module 135 and/or motors 130. By facilitating user access,ADI 105 may be configured to facilitate communication between a user andmotors 130 and/or notifications. For example, in response to the userreceiving a notification to adjust certain shades, ADI 105 may allow auser to access some or all of the functions of motors 130 for any numberof zones. ADI 105 may use communication links 120 for communication,user input, and/or any other communication mechanism for providing useraccess.

ADI 105 may be configured as hardware and/or software. While FIG. 1depicts a single ADI 105, ASCN 100 may comprise multiple ADIs 105. Inone embodiment, ADI 105 may be configured to allow a user to controlmotors 130 for multiple window coverings. As used herein, a zone refersto any area of a structure wherein ASCN 100 is configured to providenotifications from the sensors and algorithms, and/or control theshading. For example, an office building may be divided into eightzones, each zone corresponding to a different floor. Each zone, in turnmay have 50 different glazings, windows and/or window coverings. Thus,ADI 105 may facilitate notifying a user about controlling each windowcovering in each zone, some or all window coverings for some or allfloors (or portion thereof), and/or multiple ADIs 105 (i.e., two, four,eight, or any other suitable number of different ADIs 105) may becoupled together to collectively provide notifications to adjust some orall window coverings, wherein each ADI 105 provides notifications forthe window coverings for each floor. Moreover, ASCN 100 may log, record,classify, quantify, and otherwise measure and/or store informationrelated to one or more window coverings. Additionally, each ADI 105 maybe addressable, such as via an internet protocol (IP) address, a MACaddress, and/or the like.

ADI 105 may also be configured with one or more safety mechanisms. Forexample, ADI 105 may comprise one or more override buttons to facilitatemanual operation of one or more window coverings, motors 130 and/or ADIs105. ADI 105 may also be configured with a security mechanism thatrequires entry of a password, code, biometric, or otheridentifier/indicia suitably configured to allow the user to interact orcommunicate with the system, such as, for example, authorization/accesscode, personal identification number (PIN), Internet code, bar code,transponder, digital certificate, biometric data, and/or otheridentification indicia.

CCS 110 may be used to facilitate communication with and/or control ofADI 105. CCS 110 may be configured to facilitate computing of one ormore algorithms to determine, for example, solar radiation levels, skytype (such as clear, overcast, bright overcast, and/or the like),interior lighting information, exterior lighting information,temperature information, glare information, shadow information,reflectance information, and the like. CCS 110 algorithms may includeproactive and reactive algorithms configured to provide appropriatesolar protection from direct solar penetration; reduce solar heat gain;reduce radiant surface temperatures and/or veiling glare; controlpenetration of the solar ray, optimize the interior natural daylightingof a structure and/or optimize the efficiency of interior lightingsystems. CCS 110 algorithms may operate in real-time. CCS 110 may beconfigured with a RS-485 communication board to facilitate receiving andtransmitting data from ADI 105. CCS 110 may be configured toautomatically self-test, synchronize and/or start the various othercomponents of ASCN 100. CCS 110 may be configured to run one or moreuser interfaces to facilitate user interaction. An example of a userinterface used in conjunction with CCS 110 is described in greaterdetail below.

CCS 110 may be configured as any type of computing device, personalcomputer, network computer, work station, minicomputer, mainframe, orthe like running any operating system such as any version of Windows,Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows 95, MacOS,OS/2, BeOS, Linux, UNIX, Solaris, MVS, DOS or the like. The various CCS110 components or any other components discussed herein may include oneor more of the following: a host server or other computing systemincluding a processor for processing digital data; a memory coupled tothe processor for storing digital data; an input digitizer coupled tothe processor for inputting digital data; an application program storedin the memory and accessible by the processor for directing processingof digital data by the processor; a display device coupled to theprocessor and memory for displaying information derived from digitaldata processed by the processor; and a plurality of databases. The usermay interact with the system via any input device such as a keypad,keyboard, mouse, kiosk, personal digital assistant, handheld computer(e.g., Palm Pilot®, Blackberry®), cellular phone and/or the like.

CCS 110 may also be configured with one or more browsers, remoteswitches and/or touch screens to further facilitate access and controlof ASCN 100. For example, each touch screen communicating with CCS 110can be configured to facilitate control of a section of a building'sfloor plan, with motor zones and shade zones indicated (describedfurther herein). A user may use the touch screen to select a motor zoneand/or shade zone to provide control and/or obtain control and/or alertinformation about the shade position of that particular zone, currentsky condition information, sky charts, global parameter information(such as, for example, local time and/or date information, sunriseand/or sunset information, solar altitude or azimuth information, and/orany other similar information noted herein), floor plan information(including sensor status and location) and the like. The touch screenmay also be used to provide control and/or information about thebrightness level of a local sensor, to provide override capabilities ofthe shade position to move a shade to a more desired location, and/or toprovide access to additional shade control data that is captured foreach particular zone. The browser, touch screen and/or switches may alsobe configured to log user-directed movement of the shades, manualover-rides of the shades, and other occupant-specific adaptations toASCN 100 and/or each shade and/or motor zone. As another example, thebrowser, touch screen and/or switches may also be configured to provideremote users access to particular data and shade functions dependingupon each remote user's access level. For example, the access levelsmay, for example, be configured to permit only certain individuals,levels of employees, companies, or other entities to access ASCN 100, orto permit access to specific ASCN 100 control parameters. Furthermore,the access controls may restrict/permit only certain actions such asopening, closing, and/or adjusting shades. Restrictions on radiometercontrols, algorithms, and the like may also be included.

CCS 110 may also be configured to be responsive to one or more alarms,warnings, error messages, and/or the like. For example, CCS 110 may beconfigured to move one or more window coverings responsive to a firealarm signal, a smoke alarm signal, or other signal, such as a signalreceived from a building management system. Moreover, CCS 100 mayfurther be configured to generate one or more alarms, warnings, errormessages, and/or the like. CCS 110 may transmit or otherwise communicatean alarm to a third party system, for example a building managementsystem, as appropriate.

CCS 110 may also be configured with one or more motor controllers. Themotor controller may be equipped with one or more algorithms whichenable it to position the window covering based on automated and/ormanual control from the user through one or a variety of different userinterfaces which communicate to the controller. CCS 110 may providecontrol of the motor controller via hardwired low voltage dry contact,hardwired analog, hardwired line voltage, voice, wireless IR, wirelessRF or any one of a number of low voltage, wireless and/or line voltagenetworking protocols such that a multiplicity of devices including, forexample, switches, touch screens, PCs, Internet Appliances, infraredremotes, radio frequency remotes, voice commands, PDAs, cell phones,PIMs, etc. are capable of being employed by a user to automaticallyand/or manually override the position of the window covering. CCS 110and/or the motor controller may additionally be configured with a realtime clock to facilitate real time synchronization and control ofenvironmental and manual override information.

CCS 110 is also equipped with algorithms which enable it to notify theuser of optimal positioning for the window covering for function, energyefficiency, light pollution control (depending on the environment andneighbors), cosmetic and/or comfort automatically based on informationoriginating from a variety of sensing device options which can beconfigured to communicate with the controller using means similar to anyof the communication protocols and/or devices (e.g., EnOcean wirelesstechnology) or any others described herein. The automation algorithmswithin the CCS 110 may be equipped to apply both proactive and reactiveroutines to facilitate appropriate instructions in the notifications.Proactive and reactive control algorithms are described in greaterdetail herein.

CCS 110 algorithms may use occupant-initiated override log data to learnwhat each local zone occupant prefers for his optimal shading. This datatracking may then be used to automatically readjust zone-specific CCS110 algorithms to adjust one or more sensors 125, motors 130,notification modules 135 and/or other ASCN 100 system components to theneeds, preferences, and/or desires of the occupants at a local level.That is, ASCN 100 may be configured to actively track each occupant'sadjustments for each occupied zone and actively modify CCS 110algorithms to automatically adapt to each adjustment for that particularoccupied zone. CCS 110 algorithms may include a touch screen surveyfunction. For example, this function may allow a user to select from amenu of reasons prior to overriding a shade position from the touchscreen. The function may also record the user's manual adjustment of thewindow coverings. This data may be saved in a database associated withCCS 110 and used to fine tune ASCN 100 parameters in order to minimizethe need for such overrides. Thus, CCS 110 can actively learn how abuilding's occupants use the shades, and adjust the notifications tothese shade uses. In this manner, CCS 110 may fine-tune, refine, and/orotherwise modify one or more proactive and/or reactive algorithmsresponsive to historical data.

For example, proactive and reactive control algorithms may be used basedon CCS 110 knowledge of how a building's occupants use window coverings.CCS 110 may be configured with one or more proactive/reactive controlalgorithms that proactively input information to/from the manualadjustments and/or motor controllers to facilitate adaptability of ASCN100. Proactive control algorithms include information such as, forexample, the continuously varying solar angles established between thesun and the window opening over each day of the solar day. This solartracking information may be combined with knowledge about the structureof the building and window opening, as well. This structural knowledgeincludes, for example, any shadowing features of the building (such as,for example, buildings in the cityscape and topographical conditionsthat may shadow the sun's ray on the window opening at various timesthroughout the day/year). Further still, any inclination or declinationangles of the window opening (i.e., window, sloped window, and/orskylight), any scheduled positioning of the window covering throughoutthe day/year, information about the British thermal unit (BTU) loadimpacting the window at anytime throughout the day/year; the glasscharacteristics which affect transmission of light and heat through theglass, and/or any other historical knowledge about performance of thewindow covering in that position from previous days/years may beincluded in the proactive control algorithms. Proactive algorithms canbe setup to notify the user of the optimal positioning of the windowcovering based on a typical day, worst case bright day or worst casedark day depending on the capabilities and information made available tothe reactive control algorithms. These algorithms further canincorporate at least one of the geodesic coordinates of a building; theactual and/or calculated solar position; the actual and/or calculatedsolar angle; the actual and/or calculated solar penetration angle; theactual and/or calculated solar penetration depth through the window, theactual and/or calculated solar radiation; the actual and/or calculatedsolar intensity; the time; the solar altitude; the solar azimuth;sunrise and sunset times; the surface orientation of a window; the slopeof a window; the window covering stopping positions for a window; andthe actual and/or calculated solar heat gain through the window.

Additionally, proactive and/or reactive control algorithms may be usedbased on measured and/or calculated brightness. For example, CCS 110 maybe configured with one or more proactive and/or reactive controlalgorithms configured to measure and/or calculate the visible brightnesson a window. Moreover, the proactive and/or reactive control algorithmsmay curve fit (e.g. regression analysis) measured radiation and/or solarheat gain in order to generate estimated and/or measured foot-candles onthe glazing, foot-candles inside the glass, foot-candles inside theshade and class combination, and the like. Additionally, the proactiveand/or reactive control algorithms may utilize lighting information,radiation information, brightness information, reflectance information,solar heat gain, and/or any other appropriate factors to measure and/orcalculate a total foot-candle load on a structure.

Further, proactive and/or reactive control algorithms may be used basedon measured and/or calculated BTU loads on a window, glass, windowcovering, and/or the like. CCS 110 may be configured with one or moreproactive and/or reactive control algorithms configured to measureand/or calculate the BTU load on a window. Moreover, the proactiveand/or reactive control algorithms may take any appropriate actionresponsive to a measured and/or calculated BTU load, including, forexample, generating a movement request to one or more ADIs 105 and/ormotors 130. For example, CCS 110 may generate a notification and/ormovement request to move a window covering into a first position inresponse to a measured load of 75 BTUs inside a window. CCS 110 maygenerate another notification and/or movement request to move a windowcovering into a second position in response to a measured load of 125BTUs inside a window. CCS 110 may generate yet another notificationand/or movement request to move a window covering into a third positionresponsive to a measured load of 250 BTUs inside a window, and so on.Additionally, CCS 110 may calculate the position of a window coveringbased on a measured and/or calculated BTU load on a window. Informationregarding measured and/or calculated BTU loads, shade positions, and thelike may be viewed on any suitable display device.

In various embodiments, CCS 110 may be configured with predefined BTUloads associated with positions of a window covering. For example, a“fully open” position of a window covering may be associated with a BTUload of 500 BTUs per square meter per hour. A “halfway open” positionmay be associated with a BTU load of 300 BTUs per square meter per hour.A “fully closed” position may be associated with a BTU load of 100 BTUsper square meter per hour. Any number of predefined BTU loads and/orwindow covering positions may be utilized or provided in a notification.In this manner, CCS 110 may be configured to provide a notificationand/or move one or more window coverings into various predefinedpositions in order to modify the intensity of the solar penetration andresulting BTU load on a structure.

Reactive control algorithms may be established to refine the proactivealgorithms and/or to compensate for areas of the building which may bedifficult and/or unduly expensive to model. Reactive control of ASCN 100may include, for example, using sensors coupled with algorithms whichdetermine the sky conditions, brightness of the external horizontal sky,brightness of the external vertical sky in any/all orientation(s),internal vertical brightness across the whole or a portion of a window,internal vertical brightness measured across the whole or a portion of awindow covered by the window covering, internal horizontal brightness ofan internal task surface, brightness of a vertical or horizontalinternal surface such as the wall, floor or ceiling, comparativebrightness between differing internal horizontal and/or verticalsurfaces, internal brightness of a PC display monitor, externaltemperature, internal temperature, manual positioning by theuser/occupant near or affected by the window covering setting, overridesof automated window covering position from previous years and/or realtime information provided in notifications and/or communicated fromother motor controllers affecting adjacent window coverings.

Typical sensors 125 facilitating these reactive control algorithmsinclude radiometers, photometers/photometers, motion sensors, windsensors, and/or temperature sensors to detect, measure, and communicateinformation regarding temperature, motion, wind, brightness, radiation,and/or the like, or any combination of the foregoing. For example,motion sensors may be employed in order to track one or more occupantsand change reactive control algorithms in certain spaces, such asconference rooms, during periods where people are not present in orderto optimize energy efficiency. The disclosure contemplates various typesof sensor mounts. For example, types of photometer and temperaturesensor mounts include handrail mounts (between the shade and windowglass), furniture mounts (e.g., on the room side of the shade), wall orcolumn mounts that look directly out the window from the room side ofthe shade, and external sensor mounts. For example, for brightnessoverride protection, one or more photometers and/or radiometers may beconfigured to look through a specific portion of a window wall (e.g.,the part of the window wall whose view gets covered by the windowcovering at some point during the movement of the window covering). Ifthe brightness on the window wall portion is greater than apre-determined ratio, the brightness override protection may beactivated. The pre-determined ratio may be established from thebrightness of the PC/VDU or actual measured brightness of a tasksurface. Each photometer may be controlled, for example, by closedand/or open loop algorithms that include measurements from one or morefields-of-view of the sensors. For example, each photometer may look ata different part of the window wall and/or window covering. Theinformation from these photometers may be used to anticipate changes inbrightness as the window covering travels across a window, indirectlymeasure the brightness coming through a portion of the window wall bylooking at the brightness reflecting off an interior surface, measurebrightness detected on the incident side of the window covering and/orto measure the brightness detected for any other field of view. Thebrightness control algorithms and/or other algorithms may also beconfigured to take into account whether any of the sensors areobstructed (for example, by a computer monitor, etc.). ASCN 100 may alsoemploy other sensors; for example, one or more motion sensors may beconfigured to employ stricter comfort control routines when the buildingspaces are occupied. That is, if a room's motion sensors detect a largenumber of people inside a room, ASCN 100 may provide a notificationand/or facilitate movement of the window coverings to provide greatershading and cooling of the room.

Moreover, ASCN 100 may be configured to track radiation (e.g. solar raysand the like) on all glazing of a building including, for example,windows, skylights, and the like. For example, ASCN 100 may track theangle of incidence of radiation; profile solar radiation and solarsurface angles; measure the wavelength of radiation; track solarpenetration based on the geometry of a window, skylight, or otheropening; track solar heat gain and intensity for some or all windows ina building; track shadow information; track reflectance information; andtrack radiation for some or all orientations, i.e., 360 degrees around abuilding. ASCN 100 may track radiation, log radiation information,and/or perform any other related operations or analysis in real time.Additionally, ASCN 100 may utilize one or more of tracking information,sensor inputs, data logs, reactive algorithms, proactive algorithms, andthe like to perform a microclimate analysis for a particular enclosedspace.

In various embodiments, a default operation of the motor controller in“Automatic Mode” may be governed by proactive control algorithms. When anotification, manual adjustment and/or reactive control algorithminterrupts operation of a proactive algorithm, the motor controller canbe set up with specific conditions which determine how and when themotor controller can return to Automatic Mode. For example, this returnto Automatic Mode may be based upon a configurable predetermined time,for example 12:00 A.M. In another embodiment, ASCN 100 may return toAutomatic Mode at a predetermined time interval (such as an hour later),when a predetermined condition has been reached (for example, when thebrightness returns below a certain level through certain sensors), whenthe brightness detected is a configurable percentage less than thebrightness detected when the motor was placed into brightness override,if the proactive algorithms require the window covering to further coverthe shade, when fuzzy logic routines weigh the probability that themotor can move back into automatic mode (based on information regardingactual brightness measurements internally, actual brightnessmeasurements externally, the profile angle of the sun, shadow conditionsfrom adjacent buildings or structures on the given building based on thesolar altitude and/or azimuth, reflectance conditions from externalbuildings or environmental conditions, and/or the like, or anycombination of the same), and/or at any other manual and/orpredetermined condition or control.

In various embodiments, motors 130 may be configured to control themovement of one or more window coverings. The window coverings aredescribed in greater detail below. As used herein, motors 130 caninclude one or more motors and motor controllers. Motors 130 maycomprise AC and/or DC motors and may be mounted within or in proximitywith a window covering which is affixed by a window using mechanicalbrackets attaching to the building structure such that motors 130 enablethe window covering to cover or reveal a portion of the window orglazing. As used herein, the term glazing refers to a glaze, glasswork,window, and/or the like. Motors 130 may be configured as any type ofmotor configured to open, close and/or move the window coverings atselect, random, predetermined, increasing, decreasing, algorithmicand/or any other increments. For example, in one embodiment, motors 130may be configured to move the window coverings in 1/16-inch incrementsin order to graduate the shade movements such that the operation of theshade is almost imperceptible to the occupant to minimize distraction.In another embodiment, motors 130 may be configured to move the windowcoverings in ⅛-inch increments. Motors 130 may also be configured tohave each step and/or increment last a certain amount of time. Moreover,motors 130 may follow pre-set positions on an encoded motor. The timeand/or settings of the increments may be any range of time and/orsetting, for example, less than one second, one or more seconds, and/ormultiple minutes, and/or a combination of settings programmed into themotor encoded, and/or the like. In one embodiment, each ⅛-inch incrementof motors 130 may last five seconds. Motors 130 may be configured tomove the window coverings at a virtually imperceptible rate to astructure's inhabitants. For example, ASCN 100 may be configured tocontinually iterate motors 130 down the window wall in finite incrementsthus establishing thousands of intermediate stopping positions across awindow pane. The increments may be consistent in span and time or mayvary in span and/or time across the day and from day to day in order tooptimize the comfort requirements of the space and further minimizeabrupt window covering positioning transitions which may drawunnecessary attention from the occupants.

Motors 130 may vary between, for example, top-down, bottom-up, and evena dual motors 130 design known as fabric tensioning system (FTS) ormotor/spring-roller combination. A bottom-up, sloping, angled, and/orhorizontal design(s) may be configured to promote daylightingenvironments where light level through the top portion of the glass maybe reflected or even sky-domed deep into the space. Bottom-up windowcoverings naturally lend their application towards East facing facadeswhere starting from sunrise the shade gradually moves up with the sun'srising altitude up to solar noon. Top-down designs may be configured topromote views whereby the penetration of the sun may be cutoff leaving aview through the lower portion of the glass. Top-down window coveringsnaturally lend their application towards the West facing facades wherestarting from solar noon the altitude of the sun drops the shade throughsunset. Moreover, angled and/or sloping shading may be used tocomplement horizontal, angular and/or sloping windows in the façade.Notifications can provide users with instructions on how to manuallymove such different types of window coverings.

ADI 105 may be configured with one or more electrical componentsconfigured to receive information from sensors 125 and/or to transmitinformation to CCS 110 and/or notification module 135. In oneembodiment, ADI 105 may be configured to receive millivolt signals fromsensors 125. ADI 105 may additionally be configured to convert thesignals from sensors 125 into digital information and/or to transmit thedigital information to CCS 110.

ASCN 100 may comprise one or more sensors 125 such as, for example,radiometers, photometers, ultraviolet sensors, infrared sensors,temperature sensors, motion sensors, wind sensors, and the like, incommunication with ADI 105. In one embodiment, the more sensors 125 usedin ASCN 100, the more error protection (or reduction) for the system.“Radiometers” as used herein, may include traditional radiometers aswell as other photo sensors configured to measure various segments ofthe solar spectrum, visible light spectrum photo sensors, infraredsensors, ultraviolet sensors, and the like. Sensors 125 may be locatedin any part of a structure. For example, sensors 125 may be located onthe roof of a building, outside a window, inside a window, on a worksurface, on an interior and/or exterior wall, and/or any other part of astructure. In one embodiment, sensors 125 are located in clear,unobstructed areas. Sensors 125 may be connected to ADI 105 in anymanner through communication links 120. In one embodiment, sensors 125may be connected to ADI 105 by low voltage wiring. In anotherembodiment, sensors 125 may be wirelessly connected to ADI 105.

Sensors 125 may additionally be configured to initialize and/orsynchronize upon starting ASCN 100. For example, various sensors 125,such as radiometers, may be configured to be initially set to zero,which may correspond to a cloudy sky condition regardless of the actualsky condition. Various sensors 125 may then be configured to detectsunlight for a user-defined amount of time, for example three minutes,in order to facilitate building a data file for the sensors. After theuser-defined time has lapsed, sensors 125 may be synchronized with thisnew data file.

As discussed herein, communication links 120 may be configured as anytype of communication links such as, for example, digital links, analoglinks, wireless links, optical links, radio frequency links, TCP/IPlinks, Bluetooth links, wire links, and the like, and/or any combinationof the above. Communication links 120 may be long-range and/orshort-range, and accordingly may enable remote and/or off-sitecommunication. Moreover, communication links 120 may enablecommunication over any suitable distance and/or via any suitablecommunication medium. For example, in one embodiment, communication link120 may be configured as an RS422 serial communication link.

ASCN 100 may additionally be configured with one or more databases. Anydatabases discussed herein may be any type of database, such asrelational, hierarchical, graphical, object-oriented, and/or otherdatabase configurations. Common database products that may be used toimplement the databases include DB2 by IBM (White Plains, New York),various database products available from Oracle Corporation (RedwoodShores, California), Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server byMicrosoft Corporation (Redmond, Washington), Base3 by Base3 systems,Paradox or any other suitable database product. Moreover, the databasesmay be organized in any suitable manner, for example, as data tables orlookup tables. Each record may be a single file, a series of files, alinked series of data fields or any other data structure. Association ofcertain data may be accomplished through any desired data associationtechnique such as those known or practiced in the art. For example, theassociation may be accomplished either manually or automatically.Automatic association techniques may include, for example, a databasesearch, a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL, and/or the like. Theassociation step may be accomplished by a database merge function, forexample, using a “key field” in pre-selected databases or data sectors.

More particularly, a “key field” partitions the database according tothe high-level class of objects defined by the key field. For example,certain types of data may be designated as a key field in a plurality ofrelated data tables and the data tables may then be linked on the basisof the type of data in the key field. The data corresponding to the keyfield in each of the linked data tables is preferably the same or of thesame type. However, data tables having similar, though not identical,data in the key fields may also be linked by using AGREP, for example.In accordance with various embodiments, any suitable data storagetechnique may be utilized to store data without a standard format. Datasets may be stored using any suitable technique; implementing a domainwhereby a dedicated file is selected that exposes one or more elementaryfiles containing one or more data sets; using data sets stored inindividual files using a hierarchical filing system; data sets stored asrecords in a single file (including compression, SQL accessible, hashedvia one or more keys, numeric, alphabetical by first tuple, etc.); blockof binary (BLOB); stored as ungrouped data elements encoded usingISO/IEC Abstract Syntax Notation (ASN.1) as in ISO/IEC 8824 and 8825;and/or other proprietary techniques that may include fractal compressionmethods, image compression methods, etc.

In one exemplary embodiment, the ability to store a wide variety ofinformation in different formats is facilitated by storing theinformation as a Block of Binary (BLOB). Thus, any binary informationcan be stored in a storage space associated with a data set. The BLOBmethod may store data sets as ungrouped data elements formatted as ablock of binary via a fixed memory offset using either fixed storageallocation, circular queue techniques, or best practices with respect tomemory management (e.g., paged memory, least recently used, etc.). Byusing BLOB methods, the ability to store various data sets that havedifferent formats facilitates the storage of data by multiple andunrelated owners of the data sets. For example, a first data set whichmay be stored may be provided by a first party, a second data set whichmay be stored may be provided by an unrelated second party, and yet athird data set which may be stored, may be provided by a third partyunrelated to the first and second party. Each of these three exemplarydata sets may contain different information that is stored usingdifferent data storage formats and/or techniques. Further, each data setmay contain subsets of data that also may be distinct from othersubsets.

As stated above, in various embodiments, the data can be stored withoutregard to a common format. However, in one exemplary embodiment, thedata set (e.g., BLOB) may be annotated in a standard manner whenprovided. The annotation may comprise a short header, trailer, or otherappropriate indicator related to each data set that is configured toconvey information useful in managing the various data sets. Forexample, the annotation may be called a “condition header,” “header,”“trailer,” or “status,” herein, and may comprise an indication of thestatus of the data set or may include an identifier correlated to aspecific issuer or owner of the data. In one example, the first threebytes of each data set BLOB may be configured or configurable toindicate the status of that particular data set (e.g., LOADED,INITIALIZED, READY, BLOCKED, REMOVABLE, or DELETED).

The data set annotation may also be used for other types of statusinformation as well as various other purposes. For example, the data setannotation may include security information establishing access levels.The access levels may, for example, be configured to permit only certainindividuals, levels of employees, companies, or other entities to accessdata sets, or to permit access to specific data sets based oninstallation, initialization, user or the like. Furthermore, thesecurity information may restrict/permit only certain actions such asaccessing, modifying, and/or deleting data sets. In one example, thedata set annotation indicates that only the data set owner or the userare permitted to delete a data set, various identified employees arepermitted to access the data set for reading, and others are altogetherexcluded from accessing the data set. However, other access restrictionparameters may also be used allowing various other employees to access adata set with various permission levels as appropriate.

One skilled in the art will also appreciate that, for security reasons,any databases, systems, devices, servers or other components may consistof any combination thereof at a single location or at multiplelocations, wherein each database or system includes any of varioussuitable security features, such as firewalls, access codes, encryption,decryption, compression, decompression, and/or the like.

The computers discussed herein may provide a suitable website or otherInternet-based graphical user interface which is accessible by users. Inone embodiment, the Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS),Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS), and Microsoft SQL Server, are usedin conjunction with the Microsoft operating system, Microsoft NT webserver software, a Microsoft SQL Server database system, and a MicrosoftCommerce Server. Additionally, components such as Access or MicrosoftSQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, Informix MySQL, Interbase, etc., may be usedto provide an Active Data Object (ADO) compliant database managementsystem.

Any of the communications (e.g., communication link 120), inputs,storage, databases or displays discussed herein may be facilitatedthrough a website having web pages. The term “web page” as it is usedherein is not meant to limit the type of documents and applications thatmight be used to interact with the user. For example, a typical websitemight include, in addition to standard HTML documents, various forms,Java applets, JavaScript, active server pages (ASP), common gatewayinterface scripts (CGI), extensible markup language (XML), dynamic HTML,cascading style sheets (CSS), helper applications, plug-ins, and thelike. A server may include a web service that receives a request from aweb server, the request including a URL(http://yahoo.com/stockquotes/ge) and an IP address (123.45.6.78). Theweb server retrieves the appropriate web pages and sends the data orapplications for the web pages to the IP address. Web services areapplications that are capable of interacting with other applicationsover a communications means, such as the Internet. Web services aretypically based on standards or protocols such as XML, SOAP, WSDL andUDDI. Web services methods are well known in the art, and are covered inmany standard texts. See, e.g., Alex Nghiem, “IT Web Services: A Roadmapfor the Enterprise,” (2003), hereby incorporated herein by reference.

One or more computerized systems and/or users may facilitate control ofASCN 100. As used herein, a user may include an employer, an employee, astructure inhabitant, a building administrator, a computer, a softwareprogram, facilities maintenance personnel, and/or any other user and/orsystem. In one embodiment, a user connected to a LAN may access ASCN 100to facilitate movement of one or more window coverings. In anotherembodiment, ASCN 100 may be configured to work with one or morethird-party shade control systems, such as, for example, Draper'sIntelliFlex© Control System. In addition and/or in an alternativeembodiment, a Building Management System (BMS), a lighting system and/oran HVAC System may be configured to control and/or communicate with ASCN100 to facilitate optimum interior lighting and climate control.Further, ASCN 100 may be configured to be remotely controlled and/orcontrollable by, for example, a service center. ASCN 100 may beconfigured for both automated positioning of the window coverings and amanual override capability, either through a programmable user interfacesuch as a computer or through a control user interface such as a switch.Additionally, ASCN 100 may be configured to receive updated softwareand/or firmware programming via a remote communication link, such ascommunication link 120. ASCN 100 may also be configured to transmitand/or receive information directed to operational reporting, systemmanagement reporting, troubleshooting, diagnostics, error reporting andthe like via a remote communication link. Further, ASCN 100 may beconfigured to transmit information generated by one or more sensors,such as motion sensors, wind sensors, radiometers, photometers,temperature sensors, and the like, to a remote location via a remotecommunication link. Moreover, ASCN 100 may be configured to transmitand/or receive any appropriate information via a remote communicationlink.

In one embodiment, an adaptive/proactive mode may be included. Theadaptive/proactive mode may be configured to operate upon firstinstallation for preset duration, whereby manual overrides of theautomated settings may be logged and/or critical parameters identifiedwhich update the automated routines as to when a specific zone of shadesshould be deployed to a specific position. Averaging algorithms may beemployed to minimize overcompensation. The manual override may beaccomplished via a number of methodologies based on how accessible thecapability is made to the occupant. In one embodiment, a manager orsupervisor may be in charge of manually overriding the shade settings inorder to mitigate issues where there may be a variance in comfortsettings between individuals. However, override capability may beprovided, for example, through switches, a telephone interface, abrowser facility on the workstation, a PDA, touch screen, switch and/orby using a remote control. In open plan areas where multi-banded shadesare employed, an infrared control may be employed so that the userpoints directly at the shadeband which needs to be operated. Thus, aninfrared sensor may be applied by each band of a multibanded shadeespecially if the sensor is somewhat concealed. ASCN 100 mayadditionally be configured with a preset timer wherein automaticoperation of the window coverings will resume after a preset periodafter manual override of the system.

In another embodiment, ASCN 100 is configured to provide notificationsand/or facilitate control of one or more motor zones, shade bands and/orshade zone. Each motor zone may comprise one motor 130 for one to sixshade bands. The shade zones include one or more motor zones and/orfloor/elevation zones. For example, in a building that is twelve storieshigh, each tenant may have six floors. Each floor may comprise one shadezone, containing 3 motor zones. Each motor zone, in turn, may comprise 3shade bands. A tenant on floors three and four may access ASCN 100 todirectly control at least one of the shade zones, motor zones and/orshade bands of its floors, without compromising or affecting the shadecontrol of the other tenants.

In another embodiment, ASCN 100 is configured with a “Shadow Program,”to adapt to shadows caused by nearby buildings and/or environmentalcomponents, for example hills, mountains, and the like. For example, theshadow program uses a computer model of adjacent buildings andtopography to model and characterize the shadows caused by surroundingnearby buildings on different parts of the object building. That is,ASCN 100 may use the shadow program to provide a notification to raisethe shades for all motor zones and/or shade zones that are in shadowfrom an adjacent building, from trees and mountains, from other physicalconditions in addition to buildings, and/or from any other obstructionof any kind. This further facilitates maximization of daylight for thetime the specific motor zones and/or shade zones are in shadow. When theshadow moves to other motor and/or shade zones (as the sun moves), ASCN100 may revert to the normal operating program protocols and overridethe shadow program. Thus ASCN 100 can maximize natural interiordaylighting and help reduce artificial interior lighting needs.

In another embodiment, ASCN 100 is configured with a “ReflectanceProgram,” to adapt to light reflected by reflective surfaces. As usedherein, reflectance may be considered to be beamed luminance and/orillumination from a specular surface. Light may be reflected onto abuilding by a body of water, an expanse of snow, an expanse of sand, aglass surface of a building, a metal surface of a building, and thelike. For example, the reflectance program uses a computer model ofadjacent buildings and topography to model and characterize the lightreflected by reflective surfaces onto different parts of the objectbuilding. That is, ASCN 100 may use the reflectance program to provide anotification to move (lower and/or raise) one or more window coverings255, for example a window covering 255 in a motor zone and/or shadezones that are in reflected light from any reflected light surfaceand/or reflected light source of any kind. In this manner, undesirableglare may be reduced. Moreover, certain types of reflected beamed and/ordiffuse illumination may also provide additional daylighting,particularly when the light is directed toward a ceiling. When thereflected light moves to other motor and/or shade zones (e.g., as thesun moves), ASCN 100 may revert to the normal operating programprotocols and/or override the reflectance program. Thus, ASCN 100 canmaximize natural interior daylighting, help reduce artificial interiorlighting needs, and/or reduce glare and other lighting conditions.

In a reflectance program, reflective objects may be defined by thecomputer as individual objects in a three-dimensional model. Moreover,each reflective object may have multiple reflective surfaces. Eachreflective object may be partially or fully, enabled or disabled (i.e.,partially or fully included in reflectance calculations or omitted fromreflectance calculations). In this manner, if a particular reflectiveobject (or any portion thereof) turns out, for example, to be lessreflective than anticipated and/or insufficiently reflective to be ofconcern at a particular brightness threshold, then that particularreflective object may be fully or partially removed from reflectancecalculations without affecting reflectance calculations for otherreflective objects. Moreover, a reflectance program utilized by ASCN 100may be activated or inactivated, as desired. For example, thereflectance program may be configured to be activated if externalconditions are considered to be sunny, and the reflectance program maybe configured to be inactive if external conditions are considered to beovercast and/or cloudy.

Moreover, a reflectance program utilized by ASCN 100 may be configuredwith information regarding the nature of each reflective object (e.g.,dimensions, surface characteristics, compositions of materials, etc.).In this manner, ASCN 100 may respond appropriately to various types ofreflected light. For example, in the case of a reflection from abuilding, the resulting apparent position of the sun has a positivealtitude. Therefore, the reflected solar ray is coming downward onto thebuilding in question, just as a direct solar ray is always coming down.Thus, in response, ASCN 100 may utilize one or more solar penetrationalgorithms in order to provide a notification to move a window coveringincrementally downward to at least partially block the incomingreflected solar ray. In another example, in the case of reflectance froma body of water such as a pond, the resulting apparent position of thesun has a negative altitude (e.g., the reflected light appears tooriginate from a sun shining up from below the horizon). In response,ASCN 100 may provide a notification to move a window covering to a fullyclosed position to at least partially block the incoming reflected ray.However, ASCN 100 may take any desired action and/or may move a windowcovering to any suitable location and/or into any appropriateconfiguration responsive to reflectance information, and ASCN 100 is notlimited to the examples given.

In certain embodiments, ASCN 100 may be configured with a minimumcalculated reflectance duration threshold before responding tocalculated reflectance information generated by a reflectance program.For example, a particular calculated portion of reflected light may becast onto a particular surface only for a limited amount of time, forexample one minute. Thus, movement of a window covering responsive tothis reflected light may be unnecessary. Moreover, a notification tomove the window covering may not be able to be completed before thereflected light has ceased. Thus, in an embodiment, ASCN 100 isconfigured to respond to calculated reflectance information only if thecalculated reflected light will continuously impinge on a window for one(1) minute or longer. In another embodiment, ASCN 100 is configured torespond to calculated reflectance information only if the calculatedreflected light will continuously impinge upon a window for five (5)minutes or longer. Moreover, ASCN 100 may be configured to respond tocalculated reflectance information wherein the calculated reflectedlight will continuously impinge upon a window for any desired length oftime.

Additionally, ASCN 100 may be configured with various reflectanceresponse times, for example advance and/or delay periods, associatedwith calculated reflectance information. For example, ASCN 100 may beconfigured to provide a notification to move a window covering before acalculated reflected light ray will impinge on a window, for example one(1) minute before a calculated reflected light ray will impinge on thewindow. ASCN 100 may also be configured to provide a notification tomove a window covering after a calculated reflected light ray hasimpinged on a window, for example ten (10) seconds after a calculatedreflected light ray has impinged on a window. Moreover, ASCN 100 may beconfigured with any appropriate advance and/or delay periods responsiveto calculated reflectance information, as desired. Additionally, theadvance and/or delay periods may vary from zone to zone. Thus, ASCN 100may have a first reflectance response time associated with a first zone,a second reflectance response time associated with a second zone, and soon, and the reflectance response times associated with each zone maydiffer. Additionally, a user may update the reflectance response timeassociated with a particular zone, as desired. ASCN 100 may thus beconfigured with any number of zone reflectance response times, defaultreflectance response times, user-input reflectance response times, andthe like.

In various embodiments, a reflectance program utilized by ASCN 100 maybe configured to model primary reflectance information and/or higherorder reflectance information, e.g., information regarding dispersionreflections. The reflection of light off a non-ideal surface willgenerate a primary reflection (a first order reflection) and higherorder dispersion reflections. In general, second order dispersionreflections and/or higher order dispersion reflections may be modeledprovided that sufficient information regarding the associated reflectivesurface is available (for example, information regarding materialcharacteristics, surface conditions, and/or the like). Informationregarding primary reflections from a reflective surface, as well asinformation regarding higher order reflections from the reflectivesurface, may be stored in a database associated with the reflectanceprogram. This stored information may be utilized by the reflectanceprogram to calculate the appearance of various reflected light rays.However, due to various factors (for example, absorption at thereflective surface, absorption and/or scattering due to suspendedparticles in the air, and/or the like) the calculated reflected lightrays may in fact be unobtrusive or even undetectable to a human observerwhere the calculated reflected light is calculated to fall. Thus, nochange in a position of a window covering may be needed to maintainvisual comfort. ASCN 100 may therefore ignore a calculated reflectedlight ray in order to avoid “ghosting”—i.e., movement of windowcoverings for no apparent reason to a human observer.

In general, a ray of light may be reflected any number of times (e.g.,once, twice, three times, and so on). A reflectance program maytherefore model repeated reflections in order to account for reflectedlight on a particular target surface. For example, sunlight may fall ona first building with a reflective surface. The light directly reflectedoff this first building has been reflected one time; thus, this lightmay be considered once reflected light. The once reflected light maytravel across the street and contact a second reflective building. Afterbeing reflected from the second building, the once reflected lightbecomes twice reflected light. The twice reflected light may be furtherreflected to become thrice reflected light, and so on. Because modelingmultiple reflection interactions for a particular light ray results inincreased computational load, larger data sets, and other data, areflectance program may be configured to model a predetermined maximumnumber of reflections for a particular light ray in order to achieve adesired degree of accuracy regarding reflected light within a desiredcomputation time. For example, in various embodiments, a reflectanceprogram may model only once reflected light (e.g., direct reflectionsonly). In other embodiments, a reflectance program may model once andtwice reflected light. Moreover, a reflectance program may modelreflected light which has been reflected off any number of reflectivesurfaces, as desired.

Additionally, because surfaces are typically not perfectly reflective,reflected light is less intense than direct light. Thus, the intensityof light decreases each time it is reflected. Therefore, a reflectanceprogram utilized by ASCN 100 may limit the maximum number of calculatedreflections for a particular light ray in order to generate calculatedreflectance information. For example, a thrice reflected light ray maybe calculated to fall on a target window. However, due to absorptioncaused by the various intermediate reflective surfaces, the intensity ofthe thrice reflected light ray may be very low, and may in fact beunobtrusive or even undetectable to a human observer. Thus, no change ina position of a window covering may be needed to maintain visualcomfort. ASCN 100 may therefore ignore the calculated thrice reflectedlight ray in order to avoid ghosting. Additionally, ASCN 100 maycalculate reflectance information for only a small number of reflectionsinteractions (for example, once reflected light or twice reflectedlight) in order to avoid ghosting.

In various embodiments, ASCN 100 may utilize one or more data tables,for example a window table, an elevation table, a floor table, abuilding table, a shadow table, a reflective surface table, and thelike. A window table may comprise information associated with one ormore windows of a building (e.g., location information, indexinformation, and the like). An elevation table may comprise informationassociated with one or more elevations of a building (e.g., locationinformation, index information, and the like). A floor table maycomprise information associated with floor of a building (e.g., floornumber, height from ground, and the like). A building table may compriseinformation about a building, for example, orientation (e.g., compassdirection), 3-D coordinate information, and the like. A shadow table maycomprise information associated with one or more objects which may atleast partially block sunlight from striking a building, for example,the height of a mountain, the dimensions of an adjacent building, andthe like. A reflective surfaces table may comprise informationassociated with one or more reflective surfaces, for example, 3-Dcoordinate information, and the like. In this manner, ASCN 100 maycalculate desired information, for example, when sunlight may bereflected from one or more reflective surfaces onto one or morelocations on a building, when a portion of a building may be in a shadowcast by an adjacent building, and the like.

ASCN 100 solar tracking algorithms may be configured to assess andanalyze the position of the glazing (i.e., vertical, horizontal, slopedin any direction) to determine the solar heat gain and solarpenetration. ASCN 100 may also use solar tracking algorithms todetermine if there are shadows and/or reflections on the glazing, windowwall and/or façade from the building's own architectural features. Thesearchitectural features include, but are not limited to, windows,skylights, bodies of water, overhangs, fins, louvers, and/or lightshelves. Thus, if the building is shaded by, and/or in reflected lightfrom, any of these architectural features, a notification to adjust thewindow covering may be provided accordingly using ASCN 100 algorithms.

ASCN 100 may be configured with one or more user interfaces tofacilitate user access and control. For example, as illustrated in anexemplary screen shot of a user interface 500 in FIG. 5 , a userinterface may include a variety of clickable links, pull down menus 510,fill-in boxes 515, and the like. User interface 500 may be used foraccessing and/or defining the wide variety of ASCN 100 information usedto provide a notification to control the shading of a building,including, for example, geodesic coordinates of a building; the floorplan of the building; universal shade system commands (e.g., add shadesup, down, etc.); event logging; the actual and calculated solarposition; the actual and calculated solar angle; the actual andcalculated solar radiation; the actual and calculated solar penetrationangle and/or depth; the actual and/or calculated solar intensity; themeasured brightness and veiling glare across the height of the windowwall or a portion of the window (e.g. the vision panel) and/or on anyfacades, task surfaces and/or floors; shadow information; reflectanceinformation; the current time; solar declination; solar altitude; solarazimuth; sky conditions; sunrise and sunset time; location of thevarious radiometers zones; the azimuth or surface orientation of eachzone; the compass reading of each zone; the brightness at the windowzones; the incidence angle of the sun striking the glass in each zone;the window covering positions for each zone; the heat gain; and/or anyother parameters used or defined by the ASCN 100 components, the users,the radiometers, the light sensors, the temperature sensors, and thelike.

ASCN 100 may also be configured to generate one or more reports based onany of the ASCN 100 parameters as described above. For example, ASCN 100can generate daylighting reports based on floor plans, power usage,event log data, sensor locations, shade positions, shade movements,shadow information, reflectance information, the relationship of sensordata to shade movements and/or to manual over-rides and/or the like. Thereporting feature may also allow users to analyze historical datadetail. For example, historical data regarding manual or automated shademovement in conjunction with at least one of sky condition, brightnesssensor data, shadow information, reflectance information, and the like,may allow users to continually optimize the system over time. As anotherexample, data for a particular period can be compared from one year tothe next, providing an opportunity to optimize the system in ways thathave never been possible or practical with existing systems.

ASCN 100 may be configured to operate in automatic mode (based uponpreset window covering movements) and/or reactive modes (based uponreadings from one or more sensors 125). For example, an array of one ormore visible light spectrum photo sensors may be implemented in reactivemode where they are oriented on the roof towards the horizon. The photosensors may be used to qualify and/or quantify the sky conditions, forexample at sunrise and/or sunset. Further, the photo sensors may beconfigured inside the structure to detect the amount of visible lightwithin a structure. ASCN 100 may further communicate with one or moreartificial lighting systems to optimize the visible lighting within astructure based upon the photo sensor readings.

With reference to an exemplary diagram illustrated in FIG. 2A, anembodiment of a window system 200 is depicted. Window system 200comprises a structural surface 205 configured with one or more windows210. A housing 240 may be connected to structural surface 205. Housing240 may comprise one or more motors 130 and/or opening devices 250configured for adjusting one or more window coverings 255. Based onfactors including, for example, time of day, time of year, windowgeometry, building geometry, building environment, and the like, a solarray may achieve an actual solar penetration 260 into an enclosed spacethrough window system 200. With reference now to FIG. 2B, one or morewindow coverings 255 may be extended in order to partially and/or fullyblock and/or obstruct the solar ray in order to limit an actual solarpenetration to a programmed solar penetration 270.

With continued reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, structural surface 205 maycomprise a wall, a steel reinforcement beam, a ceiling, a floor, and/orany other structural surface or component. Windows 210 may comprise anytype of window, including, for example, skylights and/or any other typeof openings configured for sunlight penetration. Housing 240 may beconfigured as any type of housing, including, for example, ceramicpipes, hardware housings, plastic housings, and/or any other type ofhousing. Opening devices 250 may comprise pull cords, roller bars,drawstrings, ties, pulleys, levers, and/or any other type of deviceconfigured to facilitate adjusting, opening, closing, and/or varyingwindow coverings 255.

Window coverings 255 may be any type of covering for a window forfacilitating control of solar glare, brightness and veiling glare,contrasting brightness and veiling glare, illuminance ratios, solar heatgain or loss, UV exposure, uniformity of design and/or for providing abetter interior environment for the occupants of a structure supportingincreased productivity. Window coverings 255 may be any type of coveringfor a window, such as, for example, blinds, drapes, shades, Venetianblinds, vertical blinds, adjustable louvers or panels, fabric coveringswith and/or without low E coatings, mesh, mesh coverings, window slats,metallic coverings and/or the like.

Window coverings 255 may also comprise two or more different fabrics ortypes of coverings to achieve optimum shading. For example, windowcoverings 255 may be configured with both fabric and window slats.Furthermore, various embodiments may employ a dual window coveringsystem whereby two window coverings 255 of different types are employedto optimize the shading performance under two different modes ofoperation. For instance, under clear sky conditions a darker fabriccolor may face the interior of the building (weave permitting a brightersurface to the exterior of the building to reflect incident energy backout of the building) to minimize reflections and glare thus promoting aview to the outside while reducing brightness and veiling glare andthermal load on the space. Alternatively, during cloudy conditions abrighter fabric facing the interior may be deployed to positivelyreflect interior brightness and veiling glare back into the space thusminimizing gloom to promote productivity.

Window coverings 255 may also be configured to be aestheticallypleasing. For example, window coverings 255 may be adorned with variousdecorations, colors, textures, logos, pictures, and/or other features toprovide aesthetic benefits. In one embodiment, window coverings 255 areconfigured with aesthetic features on both sides of the coverings. Inanother embodiment, only one side of coverings 255 are adorned. Windowcoverings 255 may also be configured with reflective surfaces,light-absorbent surfaces, wind resistance material, rain resistancematerial, and/or any other type of surface and/or resistance. While FIG.2 depicts window coverings 255 configured within a structure, windowcoverings 255 may be configured on the outside of a structure, bothinside and outside a structure, between two window panes and/or thelike. Notification module 135 may be configured to send a notificationwith information about adjusting window coverings 255 to one or morepositions along window 210 and/or structural surface 205. For example,as depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the notification may suggest movingwindow coverings 255 into any number of stop positions, such as intofour different stop positions 215, 220, 225, and 230.

Moreover, a notification may indicate that window coverings 255 may bemoved independently. For example, window coverings 255 associated with asingle window and/or set of windows may comprise a series of adjustablefins or louvers. Control of the upper fins may be separate from controlof the lower fins. Thus, light from lower fins may be directed at afirst angle to protect people and daylighting, while light from upperfins may be directed at a second angle to maximize illumination on theceiling and into the space behind the fins. In another example, windowcoverings 255 associated with a single window and/or set of windows maycomprise roller screens and/or horizontal blinds associated with a lowerportion of a single window and/or set of windows, and a series ofadjustable fins or louvers associated with an upper portion of a singlewindow and/or set of windows. Control of the lower roller screens and/orlower horizontal blinds may be separate from the upper louvers. Asbefore, the lower roller screens and/or lower horizontal blinds mayprotect people and daylighting, while the upper louvers may direct lighttoward the ceiling to maximize illumination on the ceiling and into thespace behind the louvers.

Further, window coverings 255 may comprise any number of individualcomponents, such as multiple shade tiers. For example, window coverings255 associated with a single window and/or set of windows may comprisemultiple horizontal and/or vertical tiers, for example three shadetiers—a bottom tier, a middle tier, and a top tier. Control of eachshade tier may be separate from control of each other shade tier. Thus,for example, notification module 135 may instruct the user to move thetop shade tier down, then the middle tier may be moved down, and thenthe lower tier may be moved down, and vice versa. Moreover, notificationmodule 135 may instruct the user to move multiple shades at the sametime. For example, a 300 foot high window may be covered by three 100foot shades, each of which are adjusted individually. However, the three100 foot shades may be moved in a concerted manner so as to providecontinuous or nearly continuous deployment of shading from top tobottom. Thus, notification module 135 may instruct the user to movemultiple shade tiers in any sequence and/or into any configurationsuitable to facilitate control of one or more parameters such as, forexample, interior brightness, interior temperature, solar heat gain, andthe like.

Notification module 135 may provide stop positions 215, 220, 225, and230 based on the sky type. That is, CCS 110 may be configured toinstruct notification module 135 to notify the user to control themovement of the motorized window coverings 255 or a user may choose tomanually override the motors of some or all of the coverings 255.Notification module 135 may instruct the user to move window coverings255 to shade positions 215, 220, 225, and 230 depending on a variety offactors, including, for example, latitude, the time of day, the time ofyear, the measured solar radiation intensity, the orientation of window210, the extent of solar penetration 235, shadow information,reflectance information, and/or any other user-defined modifiers.Additionally, notification module 135 may instruct the user to adjustwindow coverings 255 under a severe weather mode, such as, for example,during hurricanes, tornadoes, and the like. While FIGS. 2A and 2B depictfour different stop positions, ASCN 100 may comprise any number of shadeand/or stop positions for notifying about shade adjustment.

For example, shading on a building may cause a number of effects,including, for example, reduced heat gain, a variation in the shadingcoefficient, reduced visible light transmission to as low as 0-1%,lowered “U” value with the reduced conductive heat flow from “hot tocold” (for example, reduced heat flow into the building in summer),and/or reduced heat flow through the glazing in winter. Window coverings255 may be configured with lower “U” values to facilitate bringing thesurface temperature of the inner surface of window coverings 255 closerto the room temperature. That is, to facilitate making the inner surfaceof window coverings 255 i.e. cooler than the glazing in the summer andwarmer than the glazing in the winter. As a result, window coverings 255may help occupants near the window wall to not sense the warmer surfaceof the glass and therefore feel more comfortable in the summer andrequire less air conditioning. Similarly, window coverings 255 may helpduring the winter months by helping occupants maintain body heat whilesitting adjacent to the cooler glass, and thus require lower interiorheating temperatures. The net effect is to facilitate a reduction inenergy usage inside the building by minimizing room temperaturemodifications.

ASCN 100 may be configured to operate in a variety of sky modes tofacilitate movement of window coverings 255 for optimum interiorlighting. The sky modes include, for example, overcast mode, night mode,clear sky mode, partly cloudy mode, sunrise mode, sunset mode and/or anyother user configured operating mode. ASCN 100 may be configured to useclear sky solar algorithms, for example algorithms developed by theAmerican Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-ConditioningEngineers (ASHRAE) and/or any other clear sky solar algorithms known orused to calculate and quantify sky models. For example, and withreference to FIG. 4 , the ASHRAE model 400 may include a curve of theASHRAE theoretical clear sky solar radiation 405 as a function of time410 and the integrated solar radiation value 415. Time 410 depicts thetime from sunrise to sunset. The measured solar radiation values 420 maythen be plotted to show the measured values to the calculated clear skyvalues. ASHRAE model 400 may be used to facilitate tracking skyconditions throughout the day. CCS 110 may be configured to draw a newASHRAE model 400 every hour, every day, and/or at any other user-definedtime interval. Additionally, ASCN 100 may be configured to comparemeasured solar radiation values 420 to threshold level 425. Thresholdlevel 425 may represent a percentage of ASHRAE calculated clear skysolar radiation 405. When measured solar radiation values 420 exceedthreshold level 425, ASCN 100 may be configured to operate in a firstsky mode, such as clear sky mode. Similarly, when measured solarradiation values 420 do not exceed threshold level 425, ASCN may beconfigured to operate in a second sky mode, such as overcast mode.

ASCN 100 may use the ASHRAE clear sky models in conjunction with one ormore inputs from one or more sensors 125, such as radiometers, tomeasure the instantaneous solar radiation levels within a structureand/or to determine the sky mode. CCS 110 may be configured to instructnotification module 135 to instruct the user to adjust the position ofwindow coverings 255 in accordance with the sky mode, the solar heatgain into the structure, the solar penetration into the structure,ambient illumination and/or any other user defined criteria.

For example, in one embodiment, the ASHRAE model can be used to providea reduced heat gain which is measured by the shading coefficient factorof a fabric which varies by density, weave and color. In addition thewindow covering, when extended over the glass, may add a “U” Value(reciprocal to “R” value) and reduce conductive heat gain (i.e.reduction in temperature transfer by conduction.)

For example, with reference to a flowchart exemplified in FIG. 3 , CCS110 may be configured to receive solar radiation readings from one ormore sensors 125, such as radiometers (step 301). CCS 110 may thendetermine whether any of the sensor readings are out-of-range, thusindicating an error (step 303). If any of the readings/values areout-of-range, CCS 110 may be configured to average the readings of thein-range sensors to obtain a compare value (step 305) for comparisonwith an ASHRAE clear sky solar radiation model (step 307). If allreadings are in-range, then each sensor value may be compared to atheoretical solar radiation value predicted by the ASHRAE clear skysolar radiation model (step 307). That is, each sensor 125 may have areading that indicates a definable deviation in percentage from theASHRAE clear sky theoretical value. Thus, if the sensor readings are alla certain percentage from the theoretical value, it can be determinedthat the conditions are cloudy or clear (step 308).

CCS 110 may also be configured to calculate and/or incorporate the solarheat gain (SHG) period for one or more zones (step 309). By calculatingthe SHG, CCS 110 may communicate with one or more sun sensors configuredwithin ASCN 100. The sun sensors may be located on the windows, in theinterior space, on the exterior of a structure and/or at any otherlocation to facilitate measuring the solar penetration and/or solarradiation and/or heat gain at that location. CCS 110 may be configuredto compare the current position of one or more window coverings 255 topositions based on the most recent calculated SHG to determine whetherwindow coverings 255 should be moved. CCS 110 may additionally determinethe time of the last movement of window coverings 255 to determine ifanother movement is needed. For example, if the user-specified minimumtime interval has not yet elapsed, then CCS 110 may be configured toignore the latest SHG and not provide instructions to move windowcoverings 255 (step 311). Alternately, CCS 110 may be configured tooverride the user-defined time interval for window coverings 255movements. Thus, CCS 110 may facilitate movement of coverings 255 tocorrespond to the latest SHG value (step 313).

While FIG. 3 depicts the movement of window coverings 255 in a specificmanner with specific steps, any number of these steps may be used tofacilitate notifications for movement of window coverings 255. Further,while a certain order of steps is presented, any of the steps may occurin any order. Further still, while the method of FIG. 3 anticipatesusing sensors and/or the SHG and notification module 135 to provideinstructions for the movement of window coverings 255, a variety ofadditional and/or alternative factors may be used by CCS 110 to provideinstructions for the movement, such as, for example, the calculatedsolar radiation intensity incident on each zone, user requirements forlight pollutions, structural insulation factors, light uniformityrequirements, seasonal requirements, and the like.

For example, ASCN 100 may be configured to employ a variety ofiterations for providing instructions for the movement of windowcoverings 255. In one embodiment, ASCN 100 may be configured to use aVariable Allowable Solar Penetration Program (VASPP), wherein ASCN 100may be configured to apply different maximum solar penetration settingsbased on the time of the year. These solar penetrations may beconfigured to vary some of the operation of ASCN 100 because of thevariations in sun angles during the course of a year. For example, inthe wintertime (in North America), the sun will be at a lower angle andthus sensors 125, such as radiometers and/or any other sensors used withthe present disclosure, may detect maximum BTUs, and there may be highsolar penetration into a structure. That is, the brightness and veilingglare on the south and east orientations of the building will havesubstantial sunshine and brightness on the window wall for the wintermonths, for extended periods of the day from at least 10 am to 2 pm.Under these situations, the allowable solar penetration setting of ASCN100 may be set lower to facilitate more protection due to the lowersolar angles and higher brightness and veiling glare levels across thefaçade of the structure. In another embodiment, a shade cloth with amedium to medium dark value grey to the outside and a light medium greyto the interior at 2-3% openness, depending on the interior color may beused to control brightness, maximize view and allow for the more openfabric.

In contrast, in the summertime, the sun will be at a higher angleminimizing BTU load, thus the allowable solar penetration for ASCN 100may be set higher to facilitate viewing during clear sky conditions. Forexample, the north, northwest and northeast orientations generally havemuch lower solar loads year round but do have the orb of the sun in theearly morning and the late afternoon in summer, and may have brightnesslevels that exceed 2000 NITS; 5500 Lux (current window brightnessdefault value) at various times of the year and day however for shorterperiods. These high solar intensities are most prevalent during thethree month period centered on June 21, the summer solstice. To combatthis, ASCN 100 may be configured so that the higher solar penetrationdoes not present a problem with light reaching an uncomfortable positionwith regard to interior surfaces. Under these conditions, the VASPP maybe configured with routine changes in solar penetration throughout theyear, for example, by month or by changes in season (i.e., by theseasonal solstices). A minimum BTU load (“go”/“no-go”) may additionallybe employed in ASCN 100 whereby notifications for suggested movement ofwindow coverings 255 may not commence unless the BTU load on the façadeof a structure is above a certain preset level.

The VASPP may also be configured to adjust the solar penetration basedon the solar load on the glass. For example, if the south facingelevation has a stairwell, it may have a different solar penetrationrequirement than the office area and different from the corner at thewest elevation. Light may filter up and down the stairwell causingshades to move asymmetrically. As a result, notification module 135 mayinstruct the user to adjust window coverings 255 based upon the sunangle and solar heat gain levels (which may or may not be confirmed byactive sensors before making adjustments). The VASPP may also beconfigured with an internal brightness and veiling glare sensor toprovide information to notification module 135 to instruct the userabout fine-tuning of the levels of window coverings 255. Additionally,there may be one or more instruction to the user about pre-adjusted setposition points of window coverings 255 based on a day/brightnessanalysis. The day/brightness analysis may factor in any one or more of,for example, estimated BTU loads, sky conditions, daylight times,veiling glare, averages from light sensors and/or any other relevantalgorithms and/or data.

In another aspect, one or more optical photo sensors may be located inthe interior, exterior or within a structure. The photo sensors mayfacilitate daylight/brightness sensing and averaging for reactiveprotection of excessive brightness and veiling glare due to reflectingsurfaces from the surrounding cityscape or urban landscape. These brightreflective surfaces may include but are not limited to, reflective glasson adjacent buildings, water surfaces, sand, snow, and/or any otherbright surfaces exterior to the building which under specific solarconditions will send visually debilitating reflective light into thebuilding.

In one exemplary method, the sensors may be located about 30-36 inchesfrom the floor and about 6-inches from the fabric to emulate the fieldof view (FOV) from a desk top. One or more additional sensors may detectlight by looking at the light through window coverings 255 while itmoves through the various stop positions. The FOV sensors and theadditional sensors may be averaged to determine the daylight levels. Ifthe value of daylight levels is greater than a default value, ASCN 100may enter a brightness override mode and send information tonotification module 135 to instruct the user to adjust window coverings255 to another position. If the daylight levels do not exceed thedefault value, ASCN 100 may not enter a brightness override mode andthus not provide instruction to notification module 135 to instruct theuser to adjust window coverings 255. Afterwards, ASCN 100 may beconfigured for providing instructions to notification module 135 toinstruct the user to fine-tune the illuminance levels of the window wallby averaging the shaded and unshaded portion of the window. Fine tuningmay be used to adjust the field of view from a desk top in accordancewith the season, interior, exterior, and furniture considerations and/ortask and personal considerations.

In another embodiment, ASCN 100 may be configured with about 6-10 photosensors positioned in the following exemplary locations: (1) one photosensor looking at the fabric at about 3 feet 9 inches off the floor andabout 3 inches from the fabric at a south elevation; (2) one sensorlooking at the glass at about 3 feet 6 inches off the floor and about 3inches from the glass at a south elevation; (3) one sensor looking atthe dry wall at a south elevation; (4) one sensor mounted on a desk-toplooking at the ceiling; (5) one sensor mounted outside the structurelooking south; (6) one sensor mounted outside the structure lookingwest; (7) one sensor about 3 inches from the center of the extendedwindow coverings 255 when window coverings 255 is about 25% closed; (8)one sensor about 3 inches from the center of the extended windowcoverings 255 when coverings 255 is about 25% to 50% closed; (9) onesensor about 3 inches from the center of the glass; and (10) one sensorabout 3 inches from the middle of the lower section of a window,approximately 18 inches off the floor. In one embodiment, ASCN 100 mayaverage the readings from, for example, sensors 10 and 7 describedabove. If the average is above a default value and the ASCN has notmoved window coverings 255, notification module 135 may instruct theuser to adjust coverings 255 to be moved to an about 25% closedposition. Next, ASCN 100 may average the readings from sensors 10 and 8to determine whether window coverings 255 should be moved again.

In another embodiment, ASCN 100 may be configured to average the readingfrom sensors 2 and 1 above. ASCN 100 may use the average of these twosensors to determine a “go” or “no go” value. That is, if the glasssensor (sensor 2) senses too much light and ASCN 100 has not movedwindow coverings 255, coverings 255 will be moved to a first position.ASCN 100 will then average the glass sensor (sensor 2) and the sensorlooking only at light through the fabric (sensor 1). If this averagevalue is greater than a user-defined default value, notification module135 may instruct the user to adjust window coverings 255 to the nextposition and this process will be repeated. If ASCN 100 has previouslydictated a window covering position based upon the solar geometry andsky conditions (as described above), ASCN 100 may be configured toprovide information to notification module 135 to instruct the user tooverride this positioning to lower and/or raise window coverings 255. Ifthe average light levels on the two sensors drop below the defaultvalue, the positioning from the solar geometry and sky conditions willbe provided to notification module 135 to instruct the user to adjustaccordingly.

In another similar embodiment, a series of photo sensors may be employeddiscreetly behind an available structural member such as a column orstaircase whereby, for example, these sensors may be locatedapproximately 3 to 5 feet off the fabric and glass surfaces. Foursensors may be positioned across the height of the window wallcorresponding in mounting height between each of potentially fivealignment positions (including full up and full down). These sensors mayeven serve a temporary purpose whereby the levels detected on thesesensors may be mapped over a certain time period either to existingceiling mounted photo sensors already installed to help control thebrightness and veiling glare of the lighting system in the space or evento externally mounted photo sensors in order to ultimately minimize theresources required to instrument the entire building.

In various embodiments, ASCN 100 may be configured with one or moreadditional light sensors that look at a window wall. The sensors may beconfigured to continuously detect and report the light levels as theshades move down the window. ASCN 100 may use these light levels tocompute the luminous value of the entire window walls, and it may usethese values to facilitate adjustment of the shades. In one embodiment,three different sensors are positioned to detect light from the windowwall. In another embodiment, two different sensors are positioned todetect light from the window wall. A first sensor may be positioned toview the window covering at a position corresponding to window coverings255 being about 25% closed, and a second sensor may be positioned toview the window at a position of about 75% closed. The sensors may beused to optimize light threshold, differentiate between artificial andnatural light, and/or utilize a brightness and veiling glare sensor toprotect against overcompensation for brightness and veiling glare. Thismethod may also employ a solar geometry override option. That is, if thelight values drop to a default value, the movement of window coverings255 may be controlled by solar geometric position instead of lightlevels.

Additionally, ASCN 100 may be configured with one or more sensorslooking at a dry interior wall. The sensors may detect interiorilluminance and compare this value with the average illuminance of oneor more sensors looking at the window wall. This ratio may be used todetermine the positioning of window coverings 255 by causing coverings255 to move up or down in order to achieve an interior lighting ratio ofdry wall illuminance to window wall illuminance ranging from about, forexample, 9:1 to 15:1. Other industry standard configurations employilluminance ratios of 3:1 regarding a 30 degree cone of view (centralfield of vision) around the VDU (Video Display Unit), 10:1 regarding a90 degree cone of view around the VDU and a ratio of 30:1 regarding backwall illuminance to the VDU. Sensors may be placed strategicallythroughout the room environment in order to bring data to the controllerto support these types of algorithms.

In yet another embodiment, ASCN 100 may also be configured toaccommodate transparent window facades following multi-story stairsections which tend to promote a “clerestory-like” condition down astairway (i.e., the upper portion of a wall that contains windowssupplies natural light to a building). ASCN 100 may be configured to usethe solar tracking algorithm to consider a double-height façade toensure that the penetration angle of the sun is properly accounted forand controlled. For example, the geometry of a window (including detailssuch as height, overhangs, fins, position in the window wall, and/or thelike) may be programmed into ASCN 100, which then calculates the impactof a solar ray on the window. The photo sensor placement and algorithmsmay be placed to help detect and overcome any overriding brightness andveiling glare originating from reflections from light penetrationthrough the upper floors.

In another embodiment, ASCN 100 may employ any combination of photosensors located on the exterior of the building and/or the interiorspace to detect uncomfortable light levels during sunrise and sunsetwhich override the window covering settings established by the solartracking under these conditions.

In another embodiment, ASCN 100 may be configured to detect brightovercast days and establish the appropriate window covering settingsunder these conditions. Bright overcast days tend to have a uniformbrightness in the east and west while the zenith tends to beapproximately one-third the brightness of the horizons which is contraryto a bright, clear day where the zenith is typically three timesbrighter than the horizon. Exterior sensors 125, such as photo sensorsand/or radiometers, may be configured to detect these conditions. Underthese conditions, the window coverings (top-down) may be pulled down tojust below the desk height in order to promote proper illumination atthe desk surface while providing a view to the cityscape. Internal photosensors may also be helpful in determining this condition and may allowthe window coverings to come down to only 50% and yet preserve thebrightness and veiling glare comfort derived by illuminance ratios inthe space. For example, various sensors 125, such as photometers and/orradiometers, may be placed on all sides and/or roof surfaces of abuilding. For example, a rectangular building with a flat roof may havevarious sensors 125 placed on all four sides of the building and on theroof. Thus, ASCN 110 may detect directional sunlighting on a clear day.Additionally, ASCN 110 may detect a bright overcast condition, whereinsunlighting may have a relatively diffuse, uniform luminous character.Accordingly, ASCN 110 may implement various algorithms in order tocontrol excessive sky brightness and provide notifications to adjustaccordingly. Moreover, ASCN 100 may comprise any various sensors 125placed on all sides and/or facades of a building which has manyorientations due to the shape of the building and/or the directions abuilding façade faces.

In various embodiments, overriding sensors 125 may also be strategicallyplaced on each floor and connected to ASCN 100 to help detect glarereflections from the urban landscape as well as to handle changes madein the urban landscape and ensure the proper setting for the shades tomaintain visual comfort. These sensors 125 may also be employed to helpreduce veiling glare and brightness problems at night in urban settingswhere minimal signage thresholds imposed on surrounding buildings andthe instrumented building may pose unusual lighting conditions which maybe difficult to model. In some cases, these situations may be staticwhereby a sensor 125 may be unnecessary and a timer may simply beemployed to handle these conditions based on occupancy which isinformation that may be provided from the building's lighting system.Moreover, a reflectance algorithm may be employed by ASCN 100 in orderto account for reflected light, including reflected sunlight, reflectedartificial light from nearby sources, and the like.

In accordance with various embodiments, and with reference now to FIG. 6, ASCN 100 may be configured to implement an algorithm, such asalgorithm 600, incorporating at least one of solar heat gaininformation, sky condition information, shadow information, reflectanceinformation, solar profile information and/or solar penetrationinformation. CCS 110 may be configured to receive information from oneor more sensors 125, such as radiometers or other total solar measuringsensors (step 601). CSS 110 may then compare the received information toone or more model values (step 603). Based on the results of thecomparison, CCS 110 may determine if the sky conditions are cloudy orclear (step 605). CCS 110 may then calculate the solar heat gain for theinterior space in question (step 607). CCS 110 may then evaluate if thesolar heat gain is above a desired threshold (step 609). If the solarheat gain is below a desired threshold, for example, notification module135 may instruct the user to adjust one or more window coverings atleast partially toward to a fully opened position (step 611).Correspondingly, if one or more window coverings are already in a fullyopened position, notification module 135 may instruct the user that thewindow coverings may not be moved.

Continuing to reference FIG. 6 , if the solar heat gain is above adesired threshold, CCS 110 may use sky condition information determinedin step 605 to evaluate the need to move one or more window coverings(step 613). If the sky conditions are determined to be overcast, one ormore window coverings may be moved at least partially toward a fullyopened position and/or kept in a fully opened position (step 615). Ifthe sky conditions are determined to be clear, CCS 110 may use at leastone of shadow information, reflectance information, and the like, todetermine if one or more windows in question are exposed to sunlight(step 617). If the one or more windows in question are not exposed tosunlight, notification module 135 may instruct the user that the one ormore window coverings may be moved at least partially toward a fullyopened position and/or kept in a fully opened position (step 619). Ifthe one or more windows in question are exposed to sunlight, CCS 110 maycalculate and/or measure the profile angle and/or incident angle of thesunlight (step 621).

With continued reference to FIG. 6 , based on information including butnot limited to solar profile angle, solar incident angle, windowgeometry, building features, position of one or more window coverings,shadow information, reflectance information, sky conditions and/or thelike, CCS 110 may then calculate the current solar penetration. If thecurrent solar penetration is below a threshold solar penetration (step623), notification module 135 may instruct the user to adjust one ormore windows coverings at least partially toward a fully open positionand/or kept in a fully opened position (step 625). Alternatively, if thecurrent solar penetration is above a threshold solar penetration, CCS110 may issue instructions to move one or more window coverings at leastpartway toward a fully closed position in order to reduce the currentsolar penetration below the threshold solar penetration (step 627).

Moreover, in certain embodiments, CCS 110 and/or ASCN 100 may beconfigured with a delay period before responding to information receivedfrom a sensor (for example, reflectance information, brightnessinformation, shadow information, and/or the like). For example, certainreflected light, such as light reflected from a moving vehicle, may becast onto a particular surface only for a limited amount of time. Thus,movement of a window covering responsive to this reflected light may beunnecessary. Moreover, movement of the window covering may not be ableto be completed before the reflected light has ceased. Additionally,responding to repeated transient reflected light rays (e.g., reflectionsfrom a procession of vehicles, from the unsettled surface of a body ofwater, and the like) may result in near-constant window coveringmovement in an attempt to keep up with the ever-changing lightingconditions. In another example, a certain shadow condition may onlypersist for a brief period of time, for example a shadow conditioncaused by the sun being momentarily obscured by a cloud. Therefore,notification module 135 may instruct the user that movement of a windowcovering responsive to this change in lighting may be unnecessary.

Thus, in an embodiment, ASCN 100 and/or CCS 110 is configured to respondto information from a sensor only after the sensor has reported achanged lighting condition (e.g., the appearance of reflected light, theappearance of shadow, and/or the like) persisting for five (5) seconds.In another embodiment, ASCN 100 and/or CCS 110 is configured to respondto information from a sensor only after the sensor has reported achanged lighting condition persisting for ten (10) seconds. Moreover,ASCN 100 may have a first response time associated with a first zone, asecond response time associated with a second zone, and so on, and theresponse times associated with each zone may differ. Additionally, auser may update the response time associated with a particular zone, asdesired. ASCN 100 may thus be configured with any number of zoneresponse times, default response times, user-input response times, andthe like.

Turning now to FIG. 7A, and in accordance with various embodiments, ASCN100 may be configured to implement an algorithm, such as algorithm 700,incorporating measured brightness information. CCS 110 may be configuredto receive brightness information from one or more photometers. CCS 110may also be configured to receive information from other sensors, suchas radiometers, ultraviolet sensors, infrared sensors, and the like(step 701). CCS 110 may then evaluate the current luminance and/orilluminance, and compare the current luminance and/or illuminance to athreshold luminance and/or illuminance (step 703). If the current valueexceeds a threshold value, CCS 110 may implement a brightness override,and notification module 135 may instruct the user to adjust one or morewindow coverings at least partway toward a fully closed position (step705). If the current value does not exceed a threshold value, CCS 110may not implement a brightness override, and notification module 135 mayinstruct the user that one or more window coverings may be left in theircurrent positions and/or moved at least partway toward a fully openposition (step 707).

Moreover, ASCN 100 may be configured to utilize one or more externalsensors, for example visible light sensors, in order to implement abrightness override. In this manner, individual building zone brightnesssensors may be reduced and/or eliminated, leading to significant costsavings, as the building zone brightness sensors may be costly topurchase and/or install, and difficult to calibrate and/or maintain.Moreover, ASCN 100 may be configured to utilize one or more interiorphoto sensors in conjunction with one or more external photo sensors inorder to determine if a brightness override is needed for any of themotor zones in a particular building.

Turning now to FIG. 7B, and in accordance with various embodiments, ASCN100 may be configured to implement an algorithm, such as algorithm 750,incorporating modeled brightness information. For example, ASCN 100 maybe configured to utilize modeled brightness information in order todetermine whether to move a shade. In various embodiments, the modeledbrightness information is correlated and/or curve-fit to a measuredand/or modeled BTU load on a window, a measured and/or modeled totalsolar radiation level (for example, as predicted by a clear sky model,such as an ASHRAE model), or other variable associated with a window. Invarious embodiments, a brightness model may be utilized by and/orincorporated into ASCN 100 in order to enable adjustment of shades inincremental, intermediate positions (in addition to fully closed orfully open) to achieve a desired brightness level, for example, adesired brightness level in a room. In connection with a brightnessmodel, ASCN 100 may be configured to instruct notification module 135 toinstruct the user to position a particular shade in up to 128intermediate positions between fully open and fully closed. In thismanner, ASCN 100 enables incremental adjustment of the brightness levelin a room, rather than just a binary open/closed adjustment. Forexample, if brightness is X Lux, go to position 1, if brightness is YLux, go to position 2, and so forth.

Using modeled brightness information, ASCN 100 may be configured with areduced and/or eliminated reliance on external photometers and/orradiometers. For example, via use of modeled brightness information,ASCN 100 may be operable at a suitable level of performance inconnection with only a single external photometer (for example, aphotometer located on the roof of a building) or a small number ofexternal photometers (for example, a photometer associated with eachfloor of a building), rather than in connection with a photometerassociated with each window on a building. In this manner, byeliminating most and/or all external photometers, ASCN 100 may beconfigured to greatly reduce initial system cost, reduce ongoingmaintenance expense, and improve system reliability.

In addition to modeled brightness information, measured brightnessinformation may be utilized by ASCN 100, for example, to calibrateand/or refine a brightness model. In various embodiments, a defaultbrightness model may be utilized by ASCN 100 in connection with aparticular building based on latitude, elevation, date and time, and soforth. Based on information obtained over time from one or moreradiometers and/or photometers associated with the building, ASCN 100may refine and/or revise the default brightness model to more closelymodel actual conditions associated with the building. In this manner,ASCN 100 may improve the accuracy of a brightness model, allowingongoing operation of ASCN 100 with fewer and/or no photometers whilestill delivering an acceptable level of performance.

Moreover, measured brightness information utilized to refine, update,modify, or supplement modeled brightness information may be obtainedfrom one or more sensors (e.g., photometers, radiometers, and/or thelike). In various embodiments, ASCN 100 is configured with four (4)photometers, one facing each cardinal direction (north, south, east,west). Brightness information from the photometers may be utilized torefine and/or update the brightness model. In various embodiments, ASCN100 is configured with photometers in the intercardinal directions(northeast, northwest, southwest, southeast). Photometers may vary inazimuth as well as elevation in order to obtain a desired amount ofmeasured brightness information.

In various embodiments, a brightness model is configured to considermultiple factors contributing to the brightness at a location ofinterest (for example, a window) throughout the day. In variousembodiments, a brightness model is configured to include informationabout direct solar radiation, diffused solar radiation, reflected solarradiation, and field-of-view (i.e., skyline) information for one or morelocations of interest

In various embodiments, a brightness model may be created by utilizingcorrelation, curve-fitting, modification factors (i.e. weighting),algorithms, and/or other mathematical relationships to one or more othervariables associated with a structure (and/or locations of interestthereon) and/or the environment of a structure. For example, abrightness model may be created and/or refined by utilizing one or moreof a clear sky model, measured BTU load information, modeled BTU loadinformation, atmospheric information (altitude, humidity, pollution,and/or the like), measured total radiation, modeled total radiation,window orientation, window elevation, window azimuth, window size,window altitude, skyline information, and/or the like. Moreover, abrightness model may be created and/or modified by utilizing anysuitable inputs or variables, as desired.

In various embodiments, field-of-view information may be utilized in abrightness model in order to more accurately predict and/or model howbrightness varies at a location of interest and/or among multiplelocations of interest (e.g., multiple windows on a building). Forexample, in a particular building, a first window (having a particularorientation, elevation, and so forth) may have an unobstructed view tothe horizon, while a second window (having, again, its own particularorientation, elevation, and so forth) may have a partially obstructedview due to a nearby building, and a third window may have a nearlycompletely obstructed view due to the nearby building. Because thefield-of-view can affect the brightness at a location, a brightnessmodel may incorporate this information for each location of interest(e.g., in order to allow ASCN 100 to control the shades in a desiredmanner). In this manner, ASCN 100 may implement a modeled brightnessoverride instruction for shades associated with certain windows, whilesimultaneously not implementing a modeled brightness overrideinstruction for shades associated with certain other windows. Stateddifferently, ASCN 100 may be configured to implement a modeledbrightness override on an “as-needed” basis, and independently withrespect to one window and/or motor zone from another.

Additionally, in various embodiments ASCN 100 may be configured withmultiple photometers in order to assess the amount of brightness that isdue to the sky dome and the amount of brightness that is due to theurban landscape. As discussed in additional detail herein, in variousembodiments, a computer model of a building and its surroundings can beused to generate a Pleijel projection image (for example, a “virtualcamera” constructs a 180 degree hemispherical projection of all objectsvisible in the direction the virtual camera is facing). This field ofview information can be combined and/or correlated with photometerinformation and utilized in brightness model. For example, a photometermounted on a rooftop may be utilized to identify brightnesscontributions from the sky dome, while a photometer mounted on a windowmay be utilized to identify brightness contributions from the adjacenturban landscape. The relative weighting of these inputs can be adjusted,for example based on the field of view information.

In various embodiments, field-of-view information may be utilized in abrightness model as an adjustment parameter, for example expressed as apercentage, which may modify the effect of calculated sky brightness fora location of interest. For example, if the view from a particularwindow includes urban landscape in the bottom ⅔ of the view, and sky inthe upper ⅓ of the view, a particular adjustment parameter value may beset, decreasing the effect/contribution of calculated sky brightness ascompared to a full sky view at that location of interest inconsideration of the urban landscape portion of the field of view.Similarly, if the view from a particular window includes urban landscapein the bottom ⅓ of the view, and sky in the upper ⅔ of the view, aparticular adjustment parameter value may be set, decreasing the effectof calculated sky brightness to a lesser degree. It will be appreciatedthat, in general, the greater the degree to which the urban landscape orother items occlude a view of the sky at a location of interest, thelesser the contribution/impact of calculated sky brightness in abrightness model for that location of interest.

In various embodiments, ASCN 100 is configured to use a measuredbrightness algorithm simultaneously with a modeled brightness algorithm,for example in order to refine the modeled brightness algorithm, toevaluate potential addition and/or removal of photometers, to evaluatecomputational loads on the system, and so forth.

In various embodiments, ASCN 100 is configured to use a modeledbrightness algorithm that incorporates luminance values. In variousother embodiments, ASCN 100 is configured to use a modeled brightnessalgorithm that incorporates illuminance values. In certain embodiments,ASCN 100 is configured to use a modeled brightness algorithm thatincorporates luminance values and illuminance values.

Additionally, in certain embodiments a modeled brightness algorithm maybe operative in real time; in other embodiments a modeled brightnessalgorithm may operate not in real time. Moreover, a modeled brightnessalgorithm may be configured to use current weather data from localsensors or third-party sources (for example, weather data available froma database or via an electronic network), historical weather data, andso forth.

In various embodiments, ASCN 100 is configured to utilize a brightnessmodel in connection with one or more timers and/or delays. For example,ASCN 100 may be configured to not implement a modeled brightnessoverride notification if one or more windows and/or motor zones will bein an excessive brightness condition for a limited period of time, suchas between about one minute and thirty minutes. Moreover, ASCN 100 maybe configured to not implement a modeled brightness overridenotification if one or more windows and/or motor zones will be in anexcessive brightness condition for any desired length of time.

“Excessive” brightness may include a condition that causes visual orphysical discomfort for an occupant. Moreover, excessive brightness mayinclude a specific brightness value in Lux that is flagged as excessive.For example, if it is a cloudy day and Lux in the room is above acertain value, then the room is too bright. If it is a sunny day and Luxin the room is above another certain value, then the room is too bright.

It will be appreciated that ASCN 100 may be configured to utilizemodeled brightness information at a particular location, for example ona vertical plane that is parallel to window glass. In this manner,modeled brightness information may be further accounted for and/orutilized, for example, by considering internal brightness values to beequal to modeled brightness values multiplied by the visible lighttransmittance of the window glass. Similarly, modeled brightnessinformation may be utilized in connection with information regardingbrightness factor of shade material in order to determine overallinternal brightness arising from a particular window and shadecombination. Additional details regarding brightness factor may be foundin U.S. Ser. No. 12/710,054, now U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2010/0157427 entitled “System and Method for Shade Selection Using aFabric Brightness Factor”, the contents of which is hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety for all purposes.

Continuing to reference FIG. 7B, in an exemplary method, ASCN 100 may beconfigured to utilize modeled brightness information in connection withimplementing a modeled brightness override notification. ASCN 100 mayreceive, retrieve, or otherwise obtain a modeled brightness value for alocation of interest (step 751). ASCN 100 may then evaluate the modeledbrightness value, and compare the modeled brightness value to athreshold brightness value (step 753). If the modeled brightness valueexceeds a threshold brightness value, ASCN 100 may implement a modeledbrightness override notification, and one or more window coverings maybe moved at least partway toward a fully closed position (step 755). Ifthe modeled brightness value does not exceed a threshold brightnessvalue, ASCN 100 may not implement a modeled brightness overridenotification, and one or more window coverings may be left in theircurrent positions and/or moved at least partway toward a fully openposition (step 757).

In various embodiments, ASCN 100 may be configured to implement amodeled brightness override notification when ASCN 100 is operating inclear sky mode. In various embodiments, ASCN 100 may be configured toimplement a modeled brightness override notification when ASCN 100observes measured solar radiation equal to or in excess of a thresholdvalue, for example 75 percent of a clear sky model (for example, ASHRAE)calculated clear sky solar radiation, 60 percent of a clear sky modelcalculated clear sky solar radiation, and/or the like.

In various embodiments, ASCN 100 may be configured to control theposition of one or more window coverings based on multiple algorithms.The algorithms may be ranked or otherwise weighted to determinepriority. In certain embodiments, ASCN 100 may control the position ofone or more window coverings based on algorithms associated with i)solar penetration, ii) solar heat gain, iii) illuminance, iv) luminance,v) sky conditions, and/or combinations of some or all of the foregoing.Depending on user preference, climate conditions, energy expendituretargets, and the like, the priority of a certain algorithm may be raisedand/or lowered. Thus, in certain instances an algorithm for controllingone or more window coverings based on solar heat gain may take priorityover an algorithm for controlling one or more window coverings based onsolar penetration. Likewise, in certain other instances an algorithm forcontrolling one or more window coverings based on solar penetration maytake priority over an algorithm for controlling one or more windowcoverings based on solar heat gain. Moreover, in yet other instances analgorithm for controlling one or more window coverings based on modeledbrightness information may take priority over an algorithm forcontrolling one or more window coverings based on solar heat gain, andso forth.

Yet further, in various embodiments various control algorithms may beconfigured to have only partial priority over one another. For example,an algorithm for controlling one or more window coverings based on solarpenetration may determine a maximum level to which a window covering canbe raised without exceeding a target solar penetration level. Anotheralgorithm, for example an algorithm for controlling one or more windowcoverings based on modeled brightness information, may determine adifferent position for a window covering in order to avoid excessivebrightness; ASCN 100 may be configured to allow the modeled brightnessalgorithm to further refine (e.g., lower and raise) the position of thewindow covering, provided such position does not exceed the maximumallowed position calculated by the solar penetration algorithm. Stateddifferently, the modeled brightness algorithm may be permitted to raiseand lower a window covering, but not beyond the maximum raised levelpermitted by the solar penetration algorithm. In a similar manner,multiple algorithms may be configured in a hierarchy, or otherwiserestrict or partially govern one another, in order to provide a greaterlevel of control over one or more window coverings.

With reference now to FIG. 8 , and in accordance with variousembodiments, ASCN 100 may be configured to implement an algorithm, suchas algorithm 800, incorporating shadow information. CCS 110 may beconfigured to query a shadow model (step 801) which may containinformation regarding shadowing of a building due to the environment,such as nearby structures, landscape features (e.g., mountains, hills,and the like), and other items which may cast a shade onto a building atany point during a day and/or year. CCS 110 may then evaluate thecurrent shadow information to determine if one or more windows and/ormotor zones are in a shadowed condition (step 803). If the one or morewindows and/or motor zones are shadowed, CCS 110 may implement a shadowoverride notification, and one or more window coverings may be moved atleast partway toward a fully open position (step 805). If one or morewindows and/or motor zones are not shadowed, CCS 110 may not implement ashadow override notification, and one or more window coverings may beleft in their current positions and/or moved at least partway towards afully closed position (step 807). Additionally, CCS 110 may beconfigured to not implement a shadow override notification if one ormore windows and/or motor zones will be shadowed for a limited period oftime, such as between about one minute and thirty minutes. Moreover, CCS110 may be configured to not implement a shadow override notification ifone or more windows and/or motor zones will be shadowed for any desiredlength of time.

In various embodiments, CCS 110 may be configured to implement a shadowoverride notification when ASCN 100 is operating in clear sky mode. Invarious embodiments, CCS 110 may be configured to implement a shadowoverride notification when ASCN 100 observes measured solar radiationequal to or in excess of 75 percent of ASHRAE calculated clear sky solarradiation. Moreover, in various embodiments, CCS 110 may be overriddenby a bright overcast sky mode calculation wherein one or more windowcoverings are moved to a predetermined position, for example 50% offully open.

With reference now to FIG. 9 , and in accordance with variousembodiments, ASCN 100 may be configured to implement an algorithm (e.g.,algorithm 900) incorporating reflectance information. CCS 110 may beconfigured to query a reflectance model (step 901) which may containinformation regarding light reflected onto a building due to theenvironment, for example by reflective components of nearby structures,landscape features (e.g., water, sand, snow, and the like), and otheritems which may reflect light onto a building at any point during anytime period (e.g., day, season, year). CCS 110 may then evaluate thecurrent reflectance information to determine if one or more windowsand/or motor zones are in a reflectance condition (step 903). Ifreflected light is cast on at least a portion of one or more windowsand/or motor zones, the window and/or motor zone may be deemed to be ina reflectance condition. Moreover, if only a subset of the windowscomprising a motor zone is in a reflectance condition, that motor zonemay be considered to be in a reflectance condition.

However, ASCN 100 may be configured to assess each window in a motorzone and determine if each window is in a non-reflectance condition(e.g., no reflected light is falling on the window), a full reflectancecondition (e.g., reflected light is falling on all portions of thewindow), a partial reflectance condition (e.g., reflected light isfalling on only a portion of the window), and the like. ASCN 100 maythus consider a window and/or motor zone to be in a reflectancecondition based on a user preference. For example, in an embodiment,ASCN 100 is configured to consider a window to be in a reflectancecondition when the window is fully or partially in reflected light. Inother embodiments, ASCN 100 is configured to consider a window to be ina reflectance condition when the window is fully in reflected light. Instill other embodiments, ASCN 100 is configured to consider a window tobe in a reflectance condition when at least 10% of the window is inreflected light. Moreover, ASCN 100 may consider a window to be in areflectance condition by using any appropriate thresholds, measurements,and/or the like.

If the one or more windows and/or motor zones are in reflected light,CCS 110 may implement a reflectance override notification, and one ormore window coverings may be moved at least partway toward a fullyclosed position (step 905). If one or more windows and/or motor zonesare not in reflected light, CCS 110 may not implement a reflectanceoverride notification, and one or more window coverings may be left intheir current positions and/or moved at least partway towards a fullyopen position (step 907). Additionally, CCS 110 may be configured to notimplement a reflectance override notification in response to one or morewindows and/or motor zones being in reflected light for a limited periodof time, such as between about one minute and thirty minutes. Moreover,CCS 110 may be configured to not implement a reflectance overridenotification if one or more windows and/or motor zones will be inreflected light for any desired length of time.

ASCN 100 may further be configured to enable and/or disable areflectance override notification based on any suitable criteria, forexample: the current ASHRAE and/or radiometer sky data readings (i.e.,full spectrum information); the sky data readings from one or morephotometers (i.e., oriented in any suitable manner, for exampleeast-facing, west-facing, zenith-oriented, and/or the like); acombination of radiometer and photometer data readings; and/or the like.Moreover, data from one or more photometers may be utilized by ASCN 100in order to calculate the need for a reflectance override notification.However, data from one or more radiometers may also be utilized.Further, in various embodiments, ASCN 100 may be configured to implementvarious averaging algorithms, thresholds, and the like in order toreduce the need for repeated movements or “cycling” of one or morewindow coverings 255.

In various embodiments, CCS 110 may be configured to implement areflectance override notification when ASCN 100 is operating in clearsky mode. However, CCS 110 may also implement a reflection overridenotification, for example responsive to radiometer sky data, when ASCNis operating in any mode. In various embodiments, CCS 110 may beconfigured to implement a reflectance override notification when ASCN100 observes measured solar radiation equal to or in excess of aparticular threshold, for example 75 percent of ASHRAE calculated clearsky solar radiation. Further, the threshold utilized for implementing areflectance override notification may be related to the thresholdutilized for determining a sky condition (clear, cloudy, brightovercast, partly sunny, and the like). For example, in an embodiment,the threshold utilized for implementing a reflectance overridenotification may be 5% greater than the threshold for determining aclear sky condition. Additionally, when radiometers and photometers areemployed, CCS 110 may be configured to implement a reflectance overridenotification only when ASCN 100 is operating under a particular mode ormodes (clear sky, partly clear sky, and so forth). CCS 110 may thusassess data received from one or more photometers in order to see if theambient lighting level is above a particular threshold. Moreover, invarious embodiments, CCS 110 may be overridden by a bright overcast skymode calculation wherein one or more window coverings are moved to apredetermined position, for example 50% of fully open.

With reference now to FIGS. 10A to 10D, in various embodiments, areflectance program is configured to determine if reflected light fallson a particular location on a building. A three-dimensional computermodel of the building is constructed. As depicted in FIG. 10A, a virtualcamera is placed at the location on the building model where reflectanceis to be assessed. A three-dimensional computer model of surroundingobjects (other buildings, bodies of water, and the like) is constructed.With this information, the virtual camera constructs a 180 degreehemispherical projection of all objects visible in the direction thecamera is facing, as depicted in FIG. 10B. The position of the sun isplotted in the hemispherical projection. Depending on the position ofthe sun and the properties of the objects visible to the camera (e.g.,reflective, non-reflective, and the like), the virtual camera locationmay be in a direct sunlight condition, shaded condition, a reflectancecondition, and the like. For example, if the position of the sun iswithin the boundary of another building, and the building is notreflective, the building will cast a shadow onto the virtual cameralocation, resulting in a shaded condition.

With reference now to FIG. 10C, in accordance with various embodiments,one or more reflecting surfaces are plotted in the hemisphericalprojection. Information about reflecting surfaces may be stored in areflector table. For example, a reflector table may contain informationcharacterizing the dimensions of the reflecting surface, the location ofa reflecting surface, the azimuth of a reflecting surface, the altitudeof a reflecting surface, and/or the like. Information from the reflectortable may be utilized to plot one or more reflecting surfaces in thehemispherical projection. Moreover, for a defined sun position in thesky (azimuth and altitude), the sun may be reflected onto the virtualcamera location by one or more of the reflecting surfaces. The reflectedsun (and associated sunlight) has a position (azimuth and altitude)different from the actual sun location in the sky. The reflected sun isplotted on the hemispherical projection.

At this point, the reflected sun may fall within the bounds of at leastone reflecting surface. If this occurs, the reflected sunlight will fallon the virtual camera, as illustrated in FIG. 10C. Alternately, thereflected sun may fall outside the bounds of any reflecting surface. Inthis event, no reflected sunlight falls on the virtual camera, asillustrated in FIG. 10D.

Moreover, as illustrated by FIG. 10E, a reflecting surface may itself beshaded. A reflectance program may test the location of the reflected sunto determine if the reflected sun is in the shaded or sunlit portion ofa reflecting surface. If the reflected sun is on the sunlit part of thereflecting surface, the reflected sunlight will fall on the virtualcamera. If the reflected sun is on the shaded part of the reflectingsurface, no reflected sunlight will fall on the virtual camera.Moreover, a reflectance program may be configured to account for andproperly model “self-shading”, wherein a portion of a building casts ashadow onto another portion of the building, and “self-reflectance”,wherein a portion of a building reflects light onto another portion ofthe building. In this manner, a reflectance algorithm may model, plot,determine, and/or otherwise calculate the presence and/or absence ofspecular reflections and/or diffuse reflections at any desired location.Moreover, reflectance information for complex building shapes (e.g.,cruciform buildings, pinwheel-shaped buildings, irregular buildings,and/or the like) may thus be modeled, and one or more window coverings255 may be moved accordingly.

In various embodiments, CCS 110 may occasionally calculate conflictingmovement information for a motor zone (for example, via use one or moreof algorithm 600, algorithm 700, algorithm 750, algorithm 800, algorithm900, and/or the like). For example, a first portion of a motor zone maybe in a shadowed condition, resulting in CCS 110 calculating a need tomove at least one window covering toward a fully open position inaccordance with algorithm 800. At the same time, a second portion of amotor zone may be in a reflectance condition—resulting in CCS 110calculating a need to move at least one window covering toward a fullyclosed position in accordance with algorithm 900. In order to maintainbrightness comfort, CCS 110 may be configured to allow the results ofalgorithm 900 to take priority over the results of algorithm 800. Statedanother way, CCS 110 may be configured to give reflectance priority overshadow.

CCS 110 may be configured to execute one or more algorithms, includingbut not limited to algorithms 600, 700, 750, 800, and/or 900, on acontinuous and/or real-time basis, on a scheduled basis (every tenseconds, every minute, every ten minutes, every hour, and the like), onan interrupt basis (responsive to information received from one or moresensors, responsive to input received from a user, responsive to aremote command, and the like), and/or any combination of the above.Moreover, CCS 110 may be configured to execute an algorithm, such asalgorithm 600, independently. CCS 110 may also be configured to executean algorithm, such as algorithm 600, simultaneously with one or moreadditional algorithms, such as algorithm 700, algorithm 750, algorithm800, algorithm 900, and the like. Further, CCS 110 may be configured toturn off and/or otherwise disable use of one or more algorithms, such asalgorithm 800, as desired, for example when conditions are overcast,cloudy, and the like. Moreover, CCS 110 may be configured to implementand/or execute any suitable number of algorithms at any suitable timesin order to achieve a desired effect on an enclosed space.

As mentioned herein, ASCN 100 may be configured to communicate with aBuilding Management System (BMS), a lighting system and/or a HVAC systemto facilitate optimum interior lighting and climate control. Moreover,ASCN 100 may communicate with a BMS for any suitable reason, forexample, responsive to overheating of a zone, responsive to safetyconsiderations, responsive to instructions from a system operator,and/or the like. For example, ASCN 100 may be used to determine thesolar load on a structure and communicate this information to the BMS.The BMS, in turn, may use this information to proactively and/orreactively set the interior temperatures and/or light levels throughoutthe structure to avoid having to expend excessive energy required tomitigate already uncomfortable levels, and to avoid a lag time inresponse to temperature changes on a building. For example, in typicalsystems, a BMS responds to the heat load on a building once that heatload has been registered. Because changing interior environment of abuilding takes significant energy, time and resources, there is asubstantial lag in response time by a BMS to that heat load gain. Incontrast, the proactive and reactive algorithms and systems of ASCN 100are configured to actively communicate to BMS regarding changes inbrightness, solar angle, heat, and the like, such that BMS canproactively adjust the interior environment before any uncomfortableheat load/etc. on a building is actually registered.

Furthermore, ASCN 100 may be given the priority to optimize the windowcovering settings based on energy management and personal comfortcriteria after which the lighting system and HVAC system may be used tosupplement the existing condition where the available natural daylightcondition may be inadequate to meet the comfort requirements.Communication with a lighting system may be imperative to help minimizethe required photo sensor resources where possible and to help minimizesituations where closed loop sensors for both the shading and lightingcontrol algorithms may be affected by each other. For example, based oninformation from one or more brightness sensors, ASCN 100 may move atleast one window covering into a first position. After ASCN 100 hasmoved a window covering, a lighting system may then be activated andselect appropriate dimming for the room. However, oftentimes thelighting system may overcompensate an existing bright window wall wherethe lighting system may lower the dimming setting too far and thuscreate a “cave effect” whereby the illuminance ratio from the windowwall to the surrounding wall and task surfaces may be too great forcomfort. Proper photo sensor instrumentation for illuminance ratiocontrol may be configured to help establish the correct setting for theshades as well as for the lights even though it may cost more energy toaccomplish this comfort setting. In addition, the lighting sensor mayalso provide the shading system with occupancy information which may beutilized in multi-use spaces to help accommodate different modes ofoperation and functionality. For instance, an unoccupied conference roommay go into an energy conservation mode with the window coverings beingdeployed all the way up or down in conjunction with the lights and HVACto minimize solar heat gain or maximize heat retention. Furthermore, thewindow coverings may otherwise enter into a comfort control mode whenthe space is occupied unless overridden for presentation purposes.

ASCN 100 may also be configured to be customizable and/or fine-tuned tomeet the needs of a structure and/or its inhabitants. For example, thedifferent operating zones may be defined by the size, geometry and solarorientation of the window openings. ASCN 100 control may be configuredto be responsive to specific window types by zone and/or to individualoccupants. ASCN 100 may also be configured to give a structure a uniforminterior/exterior appearance instead of a “snaggletooth” look that isassociated with irregular positioning of window attachments.

ASCN 100 may also be configured to receive and/or report any fine-tuningrequest and/or change. Thus, a remote controller and/or local controllermay better assist and or fine-tune any feature of ASCN 100. ASCN 100 mayalso be configured with one or more global parameters for optimizingcontrol and use of the system. Such global parameters may include, forexample, the structure location, latitude, longitude, local median,window dimensions, window angles, date, sunrise and sunset schedules,one or more communication ports, clear sky factors, clear sky errorrates, overcast sky error rates, solar heat gain limits for one or morewindow covering positions, positioning timers, the local time, the timethat the shade control system will wait before adjusting the shades fromcloudy to clear sky conditions (or vise versa) and/or any otheruser-defined global parameter.

ASCN 100 may also be configured to operate, for example, in a specificmode for sunrise and/or sunset because of the low heat levels, but highsun spot, brightness, reflectance and veiling glare associated withthese sun times. For example, in one embodiment, ASCN 100 may beconfigured with a solar override notification during the sunrise thatbrings window coverings 255 down in the east side of the structure andmove them up as the sun moves to the zenith. Conversely, during sunset,ASCN 100 may be configured to move window coverings 255 down on the westside of the structure to correspond to the changing solar angle duringthis time period. In another embodiment, ASCN 100 may be configured witha reflectance override notification during the sunrise that bringswindow coverings 255 down in the west side of the structure due at leastin part to light reflected onto the west side of the structure, forexample light reflected off an adjacent building with a reflectiveexterior. Moreover, when trying to preserve a view under unobtrusivelighting conditions, a Sunrise Offset Override notification or a SunsetOffset Override notification may lock in the shade position and preventthe ASCN from reacting to solar conditions for a preset length of timeafter sunrise or a preset length of time before sunset.

Moreover, ASCN 100 may be configured with a particular subset ofcomponents, functionality and/or features, for example to obtain adesired price point for a particular version of ASCN 100. For example,due to memory constraints or other limitations, ASCN 100 may beconfigured to utilize the average solar position of each week of a solaryear, rather than the average solar position of each day of a solaryear. Stated another way, ASCN 100 may be configured to determinechanges to the solar curve on a weekly basis, rather than on a dailybasis. Moreover, ASCN 100 may be configured to support a limited numberof motor zones, radiometers and/or photometers, proactive and/orreactive algorithms, data logging, and/or the like, as appropriate, inorder to obtain a particular system complexity level, price point, orother desired configuration and/or attribute. Further, ASCN 100 may beconfigured to support an increased number of a particular feature (forexample, motor zones), in exchange for support of a correspondingdecreased number of another feature (for example, solar days per year).In particular, an ASCN 100 having a limited feature set is desirable foruse in small-scale deployments, retrofits, and/or the like.Additionally, an ASCN 100 having a limited feature set is desirable toachieve improved energy conservation, daylighting, brightness control,and/or the like, for a particular building. Moreover, ASCN 100 may beconfigured as a stand-alone unit having internal processingfunctionality, such that ASCN 100 may operate without requiringcomputational resources of a PC or other general purpose computer andassociated software.

For example, in various embodiments, ASCN 100 comprises a programmablemicrocontroller configured to support 12 motor zones. The programmablemicrocontroller is further configured to receive input from 2 solarradiometers. Moreover, in order to provide scalability, multipleinstances of an ASCN 100 may be operatively linked (i.e. “ganged”)together to support additional zones. For example, four ASCNs 100 may beganged together to support 48 zones. Additionally, ASCN 100 isconfigured with an IP interface in order to provide networking andcommunications functionality. Moreover, ASCN 100 may be configured witha local communication interface, for example an RS-232 interface, tofacilitate interoperation with and/or control of or by third-partysystems. ASCN 100 may also be configured with one or more of a graphicaluser interface, buttons, switches, indicators, lights, and the like, inorder to facilitate interaction with and/or control by a system user.

Further, in this exemplary embodiment, ASCN 100 may be configured with abasic event scheduler, for example a scheduler capable of supportingweekly, bi-weekly, monthly, and/or bi-monthly events. ASCN 100 may alsobe configured with a time-limited data log, for example a log containinginformation regarding manual and/or automatic shade moves, the solarcondition for one or more days, system troubleshooting information,and/or the like, for a limited period of time (e.g., 30 days, or otherlimited period selected based on cost considerations, informationstorage space considerations, processing power considerations, and/orthe like).

Moreover, in this exemplary embodiment, the programmable microcontrollerof ASCN 100 may be configured to utilize a limited data set in order tocalculate one or more movements for a window covering. For example, ASCN100 may be configured to utilize one or more of ASHRAE algorithms,window geometry, window size, window tilt angle, height of the windowhead and sill off the floor, motor zone information, solar orientation,overhang information, window glazing specifications (i.e., shadingcoefficient, visible light transmission, and the like). ASCN 100 maythen calculate solar angles and/or solar intensity (i.e., in BTUs orwatts per square meter) for each motor zone and/or solar penetration foreach motor zone. Based on a measured and/or calculated sky condition,one or more window coverings may then be moved to an appropriateposition. ASCN 100 may further utilize both shade movements resultingfrom real-time calculations (for example, calculations based on sensorreadings) as well as scheduled shade movements.

Systems, methods and computer program products are provided. In thedetailed description herein, references to “various embodiments”, “oneembodiment”, “an embodiment”, “an example embodiment”, etc., indicatethat the embodiment described may include a particular feature,structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarilyinclude the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover,such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment.Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic isdescribed in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it iswithin the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature,structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodimentswhether or not explicitly described. After reading the description, itwill be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implementthe disclosure in alternative embodiments.

Any notification, communication, transmission and/or channel discussedherein may include any system or method for delivering content (e.g.data, information, metadata, etc.), and/or the content itself. Thecontent may be presented in any form or medium, and in variousembodiments, the content may be delivered electronically and/or capableof being presented electronically. For example, a channel may comprise awebsite or device (e.g., Facebook, YOUTUBE®, APPLE®TV®, PANDORA®, XBOX®,SONY® PLAYSTATION®), a uniform resource locator (“URL”), a document(e.g., a MICROSOFT® Word® document, a MICROSOFT® Excel® document, anADOBE® .pdf document, etc.), an “ebook,” an “emagazine,” an applicationor microapplication (as described herein), an SMS or other type of textmessage, an email, facebook, twitter, MMS and/or other type ofcommunication technology. In various embodiments, a channel may behosted or provided by a data partner. In various embodiments, thedistribution channel may comprise at least one of a merchant website, asocial media website, affiliate or partner websites, an external vendor,a mobile device communication, social media network and/or locationbased service. Distribution channels may include at least one of amerchant website, a social media site, affiliate or partner websites, anexternal vendor, and a mobile device communication. Examples of socialmedia sites include FACEBOOK®, FOURSQUARE®, TWITTER®, MYSPACE®,LINKEDIN, and the like. Examples of affiliate or partner websitesinclude AMERICAN EXPRESS®, GROUPON®, LIVINGSOCIAL®, and the like.Moreover, examples of mobile device communications include texting,email, and mobile applications for smartphones.

A “consumer profile” or “consumer profile data” may comprise anyinformation or data about a consumer that describes an attributeassociated with the consumer (e.g., a preference, an interest,demographic information, personally identifying information, and thelike).

In various embodiments, the methods described herein are implementedusing the various particular machines described herein. The methodsdescribed herein may be implemented using the below particular machines,and those hereinafter developed, in any suitable combination, as wouldbe appreciated immediately by one skilled in the art. Further, as isunambiguous from this disclosure, the methods described herein mayresult in various transformations of certain articles.

For the sake of brevity, conventional data networking, applicationdevelopment and other functional aspects of the systems (and componentsof the individual operating components of the systems) may not bedescribed in detail herein.

The various system components discussed herein may include one or moreof the following: a host server or other computing systems including aprocessor for processing digital data; a memory coupled to the processorfor storing digital data; an input digitizer coupled to the processorfor inputting digital data; an application program stored in the memoryand accessible by the processor for directing processing of digital databy the processor; a display device coupled to the processor and memoryfor displaying information derived from digital data processed by theprocessor; and a plurality of databases. Various databases used hereinmay include: client data; merchant data; financial institution data;and/or like data useful in the operation of the system. As those skilledin the art will appreciate, user computer may include an operatingsystem (e.g., WINDOWS® NT®, WINDOWS® 95/98/2000®, WINDOWS® XP®, WINDOWS®Vista®, WINDOWS® 7®, OS2, UNIX®, LINUX®, SOLARIS®, MacOS, etc.) as wellas various conventional support software and drivers typicallyassociated with computers.

The present system or any part(s) or function(s) thereof may beimplemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof and may beimplemented in one or more computer systems or other processing systems.However, the manipulations performed by embodiments were often referredto in terms, such as matching or selecting, which are commonlyassociated with mental operations performed by a human operator. No suchcapability of a human operator is necessary, or desirable in most cases,in any of the operations described herein. Rather, the operations may bemachine operations. Useful machines for performing the variousembodiments include general purpose digital computers or similardevices.

In fact, in various embodiments, the embodiments are directed toward oneor more computer systems capable of carrying out the functionalitydescribed herein. The computer system includes one or more processors,such as processor. The processor is connected to a communicationinfrastructure (e.g., a communications bus, cross-over bar, or network).Various software embodiments are described in terms of this exemplarycomputer system. After reading this description, it will become apparentto a person skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement variousembodiments using other computer systems and/or architectures. Computersystem can include a display interface that forwards graphics, text, andother data from the communication infrastructure (or from a frame buffernot shown) for display on a display unit.

Computer system also includes a main memory, such as for example randomaccess memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory. Thesecondary memory may include, for example, a hard disk drive and/or aremovable storage drive, representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetictape drive, an optical disk drive, etc. The removable storage drivereads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit in a well-knownmanner. Removable storage unit represents a floppy disk, magnetic tape,optical disk, etc. which is read by and written to by removable storagedrive. As will be appreciated, the removable storage unit includes acomputer usable storage medium having stored therein computer softwareand/or data.

In various embodiments, secondary memory may include other similardevices for allowing computer programs or other instructions to beloaded into computer system. Such devices may include, for example, aremovable storage unit and an interface. Examples of such may include aprogram cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that found in videogame devices), a removable memory chip (such as an erasable programmableread only memory (EPROM), or programmable read only memory (PROM)) andassociated socket, and other removable storage units and interfaces,which allow software and data to be transferred from the removablestorage unit to computer system.

Computer system may also include a communications interface.Communications interface allows software and data to be transferredbetween computer system and external devices. Examples of communicationsinterface may include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernetcard), a communications port, a Personal Computer Memory CardInternational Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc. Software and datatransferred via communications interface are in the form of signalswhich may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signalscapable of being received by communications interface. These signals areprovided to communications interface via a communications path (e.g.,channel). This channel carries signals and may be implemented usingwire, cable, fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, a radiofrequency (RF) link, wireless and other communications channels.

The terms “computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” and“computer readable medium” are used to generally refer to media such asremovable storage drive and a hard disk installed in hard disk drive.These computer program products provide software to computer system.

Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) arestored in main memory and/or secondary memory. Computer programs mayalso be received via communications interface. Such computer programs,when executed, enable the computer system to perform the features asdiscussed herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed,enable the processor to perform the features of various embodiments.Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of thecomputer system.

In various embodiments, software may be stored in a computer programproduct and loaded into computer system using removable storage drive,hard disk drive or communications interface. The control logic(software), when executed by the processor, causes the processor toperform the functions of various embodiments as described herein. Invarious embodiments, hardware components such as application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs). Implementation of the hardware statemachine so as to perform the functions described herein will be apparentto persons skilled in the relevant art(s).

In various embodiments, the server may include application servers (e.g.WEB SPHERE, WEB LOGIC, JBOSS). In various embodiments, the server mayinclude web servers (e.g. APACHE, IIS, GWS, SUN JAVA SYSTEM WEB SERVER).

A web client includes any device (e.g., personal computer) whichcommunicates via any network, for example such as those discussedherein. Such browser applications comprise Internet browsing softwareinstalled within a computing unit or a system to conduct onlinetransactions and/or communications. These computing units or systems maytake the form of a computer or set of computers, although other types ofcomputing units or systems may be used, including laptops, notebooks,tablets, hand held computers, personal digital assistants, set-topboxes, workstations, computer-servers, main frame computers,mini-computers, PC servers, pervasive computers, network sets ofcomputers, personal computers, such as IPADS®, IMACS®, and MACBOOKS®,kiosks, terminals, point of sale (POS) devices and/or terminals,televisions, or any other device capable of receiving data over anetwork. A web-client may run MICROSOFT® INTERNET EXPLORER®, MOZILLA®FIREFOX®, GOOGLE® CHROME®, APPLE® Safari, or any other of the myriadsoftware packages available for browsing the internet.

Practitioners will appreciate that a web client may or may not be indirect contact with an application server. For example, a web client mayaccess the services of an application server through another serverand/or hardware component, which may have a direct or indirectconnection to an Internet server. For example, a web client maycommunicate with an application server via a load balancer. In variousembodiments, access is through a network or the Internet through acommercially-available web-browser software package.

As those skilled in the art will appreciate, a web client includes anoperating system (e.g., WINDOWS® NT®, 95/98/2000/CE/Mobile, OS2, UNIX®,LINUX®, SOLARIS®, MacOS, PALM®OS®, etc.) as well as various conventionalsupport software and drivers typically associated with computers. A webclient may include any suitable personal computer, network computer,workstation, personal digital assistant, cellular phone, smart phone,minicomputer, mainframe or the like. A web client can be in a home orbusiness environment with access to a network. In various embodiments,access is through a network or the Internet through a commerciallyavailable web-browser software package. A web client may implementsecurity protocols such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and TransportLayer Security (TLS). A web client may implement several applicationlayer protocols including http, https, ftp, and sftp.

In various embodiments, components, modules, and/or engines of system100 may be implemented as micro-applications or micro-apps. Micro-appsare typically deployed in the context of a mobile operating system,including for example, a PALM® mobile operating system, a WINDOWS®mobile operating system, an ANDROID® Operating System, APPLE® IOS®, aBLACKBERRY® operating system and the like. The micro-app may beconfigured to leverage the resources of the larger operating system andassociated hardware via a set of predetermined rules which govern theoperations of various operating systems and hardware resources. Forexample, where a micro-app desires to communicate with a device ornetwork other than the mobile device or mobile operating system, themicro-app may leverage the communication protocol of the operatingsystem and associated device hardware under the predetermined rules ofthe mobile operating system. Moreover, where the micro-app desires aninput from a user, the micro-app may be configured to request a responsefrom the operating system which monitors various hardware components andthen communicates a detected input from the hardware to the micro-app.

As used herein an “identifier” may be any suitable identifier thatuniquely identifies an item. For example, the identifier may be aglobally unique identifier (“GUID”). The GUID may be an identifiercreated and/or implemented under the universally unique identifierstandard. Moreover, the GUID may be stored as 128-bit value that can bedisplayed as 32 hexadecimal digits. The identifier may also include amajor number, and a minor number. The major number and minor number mayeach be 16 bit integers.

As used herein, the term “network” includes any cloud, cloud computingsystem or electronic communications system or method which incorporateshardware and/or software components. Communication among the parties maybe accomplished through any suitable communication channels, such as,for example, a telephone network, an extranet, an intranet, Internet,point of interaction device (point of sale device, personal digitalassistant (e.g., IPHONE®, PALM® PILOT®, BLACKBERRY®), cellular phone,kiosk, etc.), online communications, satellite communications, off-linecommunications, wireless communications, transponder communications,local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), virtual privatenetwork (VPN), networked or linked devices, keyboard, mouse and/or anysuitable communication or data input modality. Moreover, although thesystem is frequently described herein as being implemented with TCP/IPcommunications protocols, the system may also be implemented using IPX,APPLE®talk, IP-6, NetBIOS®, OSI, any tunneling protocol (e.g. IPsec,SSH), or any number of existing or future protocols. If the network isin the nature of a public network, such as the Internet, it may beadvantageous to presume the network to be insecure and open toeavesdroppers. Specific information related to the protocols, standards,and application software utilized in connection with the Internet isgenerally known to those skilled in the art and, as such, need not bedetailed herein. See, for example, DILIP NAIK, INTERNET STANDARDS ANDPROTOCOLS (1998); JAVA 2 COMPLETE, various authors, (Sybex 1999);DEBORAH RAY AND ERIC RAY, MASTERING HTML 4.0 (1997); and LOSHIN, TCP/IPCLEARLY EXPLAINED (1997) and DAVID GOURLEY AND BRIAN TOTTY, HTTP, THEDEFINITIVE GUIDE (2002), the contents of which are hereby incorporatedby reference.

The various system components may be independently, separately orcollectively suitably coupled to the network via data links whichincludes, for example, a connection to an Internet Service Provider(ISP) over the local loop as is typically used in connection withstandard modem communication, cable modem, Dish Networks®, ISDN, DigitalSubscriber Line (DSL), or various wireless communication methods, see,e.g., GILBERT HELD, UNDERSTANDING DATA COMMUNICATIONS (1996), which ishereby incorporated by reference. It is noted that the network may beimplemented as other types of networks, such as an interactivetelevision (ITV) network. Moreover, the system contemplates the use,sale or distribution of any goods, services or information over anynetwork having similar functionality described herein.

“Cloud” or “Cloud computing” includes a model for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services)that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal managementeffort or service provider interaction. Cloud computing may includelocation-independent computing, whereby shared servers provideresources, software, and data to computers and other devices on demand.For more information regarding cloud computing, see the NIST's (NationalInstitute of Standards and Technology) definition of cloud computing athttp://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-145/SP800-145.pdf (lastvisited June 2012), which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

As used herein, “transmit” may include sending electronic data from onesystem component to another over a network connection. Additionally, asused herein, “data” may include encompassing information such ascommands, queries, files, data for storage, and the like in digital orany other form.

The system contemplates uses in association with web services, utilitycomputing, pervasive and individualized computing, security and identitysolutions, autonomic computing, cloud computing, commodity computing,mobility and wireless solutions, open source, biometrics, grid computingand/or mesh computing.

Any databases discussed herein may include relational, hierarchical,graphical, or object-oriented structure and/or any other databaseconfigurations. Common database products that may be used to implementthe databases include DB2 by IBM® (Armonk, NY), various databaseproducts available from ORACLE® Corporation (Redwood Shores, CA),MICROSOFT® Access® or MICROSOFT® SQL Server® by MICROSOFT® Corporation(Redmond, Washington), MySQL by MySQL AB (Uppsala, Sweden), or any othersuitable database product. Moreover, the databases may be organized inany suitable manner, for example, as data tables or lookup tables. Eachrecord may be a single file, a series of files, a linked series of datafields or any other data structure. Association of certain data may beaccomplished through any desired data association technique such asthose known or practiced in the art. For example, the association may beaccomplished either manually or automatically. Automatic associationtechniques may include, for example, a database search, a databasemerge, GREP, AGREP, SQL, using a key field in the tables to speedsearches, sequential searches through all the tables and files, sortingrecords in the file according to a known order to simplify lookup,and/or the like. The association step may be accomplished by a databasemerge function, for example, using a “key field” in pre-selecteddatabases or data sectors. Various database tuning steps arecontemplated to optimize database performance. For example, frequentlyused files such as indexes may be placed on separate file systems toreduce In/Out (“I/O”) bottlenecks.

The data set annotation may also be used for other types of statusinformation as well as various other purposes. For example, the data setannotation may include security information establishing access levels.The access levels may, for example, be configured to permit only certainindividuals, levels of employees, companies, or other entities to accessdata sets, or to permit access to specific data sets based on thetransaction, merchant, issuer, user or the like. Furthermore, thesecurity information may restrict/permit only certain actions such asaccessing, modifying, and/or deleting data sets. In one example, thedata set annotation indicates that only the data set owner or the userare permitted to delete a data set, various identified users may bepermitted to access the data set for reading, and others are altogetherexcluded from accessing the data set. However, other access restrictionparameters may also be used allowing various entities to access a dataset with various permission levels as appropriate.

The data, including the header or trailer may be received by a standalone interaction device configured to add, delete, modify, or augmentthe data in accordance with the header or trailer. As such, in oneembodiment, the header or trailer is not stored on the transactiondevice along with the associated issuer-owned data but instead theappropriate action may be taken by providing to the transactioninstrument user at the stand alone device, the appropriate option forthe action to be taken. The system may contemplate a data storagearrangement wherein the header or trailer, or header or trailer history,of the data is stored on the transaction instrument in relation to theappropriate data.

One skilled in the art will also appreciate that, for security reasons,any databases, systems, devices, servers or other components of thesystem may consist of any combination thereof at a single location or atmultiple locations, wherein each database or system includes any ofvarious suitable security features, such as firewalls, access codes,encryption, decryption, compression, decompression, and/or the like.

Encryption may be performed by way of any of the techniques nowavailable in the art or which may become available—e.g., Twofish, RSA,El Gamal, Schorr signature, DSA, PGP, PKI, GPG (GnuPG), and symmetricand asymmetric cryptosystems.

The computing unit of the web client may be further equipped with anInternet browser connected to the Internet or an intranet using standarddial-up, cable, DSL or any other Internet protocol known in the art.Transactions originating at a web client may pass through a firewall inorder to prevent unauthorized access from users of other networks.Further, additional firewalls may be deployed between the varyingcomponents of CMS to further enhance security.

Firewall may include any hardware and/or software suitably configured toprotect CMS components and/or enterprise computing resources from usersof other networks. Further, a firewall may be configured to limit orrestrict access to various systems and components behind the firewallfor web clients connecting through a web server. Firewall may reside invarying configurations including Stateful Inspection, Proxy based,access control lists, and Packet Filtering among others. Firewall may beintegrated within an web server or any other CMS components or mayfurther reside as a separate entity. A firewall may implement networkaddress translation (“NAT”) and/or network address port translation(“NAPT”). A firewall may accommodate various tunneling protocols tofacilitate secure communications, such as those used in virtual privatenetworking. A firewall may implement a demilitarized zone (“DMZ”) tofacilitate communications with a public network such as the Internet. Afirewall may be integrated as software within an Internet server, anyother application server components or may reside within anothercomputing device or may take the form of a standalone hardwarecomponent.

The computers discussed herein may provide a suitable website or otherInternet-based graphical user interface which is accessible by users. Inone embodiment, the MICROSOFT® INTERNET INFORMATION SERVICES® (IIS),MICROSOFT® Transaction Server (MTS), and MICROSOFT® SQL Server, are usedin conjunction with the MICROSOFT® operating system, MICROSOFT® NT webserver software, a MICROSOFT® SQL Server database system, and aMICROSOFT® Commerce Server. Additionally, components such as Access orMICROSOFT® SQL Server, ORACLE®, Sybase, Informix MySQL, Interbase, etc.,may be used to provide an Active Data Object (ADO) compliant databasemanagement system. In one embodiment, the Apache web server is used inconjunction with a Linux operating system, a MySQL database, and thePerl, PHP, and/or Python programming languages.

Any of the communications, inputs, storage, databases or displaysdiscussed herein may be facilitated through a website having web pages.The term “web page” as it is used herein is not meant to limit the typeof documents and applications that might be used to interact with theuser. For example, a typical website might include, in addition tostandard HTML documents, various forms, JAVA APPLE®ts, JAVASCNRIPT,active server pages (ASP), common gateway interface scripts (CGI),extensible markup language (XML), dynamic HTML, cascading style sheets(CSS), AJAX (Asynchronous JAVASCNRIPT And XML), helper applications,plug-ins, and the like. A server may include a web service that receivesa request from a web server, the request including a URL and an IPaddress (123.56.789.234). The web server retrieves the appropriate webpages and sends the data or applications for the web pages to the IPaddress. Web services are applications that are capable of interactingwith other applications over a communications means, such as theinternet. Web services are typically based on standards or protocolssuch as XML, SOAP, AJAX, WSDL and UDDI. Web services methods are wellknown in the art, and are covered in many standard texts. See, e.g.,ALEX NGHIEM, IT WEB SERVICES: A ROADMAP FOR THE ENTERPRISE (2003),hereby incorporated by reference.

Middleware may include any hardware and/or software suitably configuredto facilitate communications and/or process transactions betweendisparate computing systems. Middleware components are commerciallyavailable and known in the art. Middleware may be implemented throughcommercially available hardware and/or software, through custom hardwareand/or software components, or through a combination thereof. Middlewaremay reside in a variety of configurations and may exist as a standalonesystem or may be a software component residing on the Internet server.Middleware may be configured to process transactions between the variouscomponents of an application server and any number of internal orexternal systems for any of the purposes disclosed herein. WEBSPHERE MQ™(formerly MQSeries) by IBM®, Inc. (Armonk, NY) is an example of acommercially available middleware product. An Enterprise Service Bus(“ESB”) application is another example of middleware.

Practitioners will also appreciate that there are a number of methodsfor displaying data within a browser-based document. Data may berepresented as standard text or within a fixed list, scrollable list,drop-down list, editable text field, fixed text field, pop-up window,and the like. Likewise, there are a number of methods available formodifying data in a web page such as, for example, free text entry usinga keyboard, selection of menu items, check boxes, option boxes, and thelike.

The system and method may be described herein in terms of functionalblock components, screen shots, optional selections and variousprocessing steps. It should be appreciated that such functional blocksmay be realized by any number of hardware and/or software componentsconfigured to perform the specified functions. For example, the systemmay employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements,processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and the like, whichmay carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or moremicroprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the softwareelements of the system may be implemented with any programming orscripting language such as C, C++, C#, JAVA, JAVASCNRIPT, VBScript,Macromedia Cold Fusion, COBOL, MICROSOFT® Active Server Pages, assembly,PERL, PHP, awk, Python, Visual Basic, SQL Stored Procedures, PL/SQL, anyUNIX shell script, and extensible markup language (XML) with the variousalgorithms being implemented with any combination of data structures,objects, processes, routines or other programming elements. Further, itshould be noted that the system may employ any number of conventionaltechniques for data transmission, signaling, data processing, networkcontrol, and the like. Still further, the system could be used to detector prevent security issues with a client-side scripting language, suchas JAVASCNRIPT, VBScript or the like. For a basic introduction ofcryptography and network security, see any of the following references:(1) “Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, And Source Code In C,”by Bruce Schneier, published by John Wiley & Sons (second edition,1995); (2) “JAVA Cryptography” by Jonathan Knudson, published byO'Reilly & Associates (1998); (3) “Cryptography & Network Security:Principles & Practice” by William Stallings, published by Prentice Hall;all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the systemmay be embodied as a customization of an existing system, an add-onproduct, a processing apparatus executing upgraded software, a standalone system, a distributed system, a method, a data processing system,a device for data processing, and/or a computer program product.Accordingly, any portion of the system or a module may take the form ofa processing apparatus executing code, an internet based embodiment, anentirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment combining aspects of theinternet, software and hardware. Furthermore, the system may take theform of a computer program product on a computer-readable storage mediumhaving computer-readable program code means embodied in the storagemedium. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilized,including hard disks, CD-ROM, optical storage devices, magnetic storagedevices, and/or the like.

The system and method is described herein with reference to screenshots, block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods, apparatus(e.g., systems), and computer program products according to variousembodiments. It will be understood that each functional block of theblock diagrams and the flowchart illustrations, and combinations offunctional blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations,respectively, can be implemented by computer program instructions.

These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructionsthat execute on the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks. These computer program instructions may alsobe stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks.The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, functional disclosure supports combinations of means forperforming the specified functions, combinations of steps for performingthe specified functions, and program instruction means for performingthe specified functions. It will also be understood that the functionscan be implemented by either special purpose hardware-based computersystems which perform the specified functions or steps, or suitablecombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.Further, illustrations of the process flows and the descriptions thereofmay make reference to user WINDOWS®, webpages, websites, web forms,prompts, etc. Practitioners will appreciate that the illustrated stepsdescribed herein may comprise in any number of configurations includingthe use of WINDOWS®, webpages, web forms, popup WINDOWS®, prompts andthe like. It should be further appreciated that the multiple steps asillustrated and described may be combined into single webpages and/orWINDOWS® but have been expanded for the sake of simplicity. In othercases, steps illustrated and described as single process steps may beseparated into multiple webpages and/or WINDOWS® but have been combinedfor simplicity.

The term “non-transitory” is to be understood to remove only propagatingtransitory signals per se from the claim scope and does not relinquishrights to all standard computer-readable media that are not onlypropagating transitory signals per se. Stated another way, the meaningof the term “non-transitory computer-readable medium” and“non-transitory computer-readable storage medium” should be construed toexclude only those types of transitory computer-readable media whichwere found in In Re Nuijten to fall outside the scope of patentablesubject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed herein with regard to specific embodiments. However, thebenefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that maycause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essentialfeatures or elements of the disclosure. The scope of the disclosure isaccordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, inwhich reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean“one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one ormore.” Moreover, where a phrase similar to ‘at least one of A, B, and C’or ‘at least one of A, B, or C’ is used in the claims or specification,it is intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone maybe present in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, Calone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of theelements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example,A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. Although the disclosureincludes a method, it is contemplated that it may be embodied ascomputer program instructions on a tangible computer-readable carrier,such as a magnetic or optical memory or a magnetic or optical disk. Allstructural, chemical, and functional equivalents to the elements of theabove-described various embodiments that are known to those of ordinaryskill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and areintended to be encompassed by the present claims. Moreover, it is notnecessary for a device or method to address each and every problemsought to be solved by the present disclosure, for it to be encompassedby the present claims. Furthermore, no element, component, or methodstep in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the publicregardless of whether the element, component, or method step isexplicitly recited in the claims. No claim element herein is to beconstrued under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112 (f) unless the elementis expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” As used herein, theterms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does notinclude only those elements but may include other elements not expresslylisted or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A window shade system comprising: a driveend bracket; an idle end bracket; a shade tube extending between thedrive end bracket and the idle end bracket; a window shade wound aroundthe shade tube; a spring assembly configured to predispose the windowshade to at least one of a fully extended position or a fully retractedposition, wherein the spring assembly is loaded, in response to a chainwithin the drive end bracket being manually pulled; an electronic brakedevice that is engaged against the chain, in response to the chainwithin the drive end bracket being manually pulled, wherein theelectronic brake device is configured to restrict the chain by beingengaged against the chain and intermittently disengage from the chain tocause the spring assembly to unload and the window shade to manuallymove in a plurality of positions between the fully extended position andthe fully retracted position; and a controller configured to communicatewith the electronic brake device to provide instructions for theintermittent disengaging of the chain and movement of the window shadein the plurality of positions.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein theelectronic brake device also restricts a rotating hub within the driveend bracket.
 3. The system of claim 2, further comprising an encoderconfigured to communicate with the controller, wherein the encoder isconfigured to track the plurality of positions of the window shade. 4.The system of claim 3, further comprising a scheduler configured tocommunicate with the controller.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein thescheduler is configured to provide a time of day to the controller,wherein the controller is configured to release the electronic brakedevice at the time of day.
 6. The system of claim 5, further comprisingan automation system schedule configured to communicate with thecontroller, wherein the automation system schedule is configured toprovide a time of day to the controller, wherein the controller isconfigured to activate the electronic brake device at the time of day.7. The system of claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to trackthe plurality of positions of the window shade based on time.
 8. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to communicatewith a remote input device.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein thecontroller is configured to wirelessly communicate over at least one ofBluetooth or WiFi with at least one of a remote input device or asmartphone.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the brake includes asolenoid.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the spring assembly is alift assist mechanism.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein theelectronic brake device interfaces with a bead keeper that defines oneor more presets for the plurality of positions of the window shade. 13.The system of claim 12, wherein the controller is configured to receive,from a remote input device, input about an adjustment of the windowshade, and wherein the adjustment is based on a suggested adjustmentreceived by the remote input device.
 14. The system of claim 13, whereinthe suggested adjustment is based on at least one of a calculated shadowor a calculated reflected light at a location of the interest, andwherein the suggested adjustment optimizes at least one of daylightingor internal temperature at the location of interest.
 15. The system ofclaim 14, wherein the suggested adjustment is also for adjusting anartificial lighting control system.
 16. The system of claim 15, whereinthe suggested adjustment is received by the remote input device, inadvance of when a calculated shadow or a calculated reflected light isto be present at a location of interest.